Once Upon a Pair of Broken Hearts
by StarCrossedHanyou
Summary: Why the hell is everyone calling me Kikyo? It's Kaori! Kaori Sakamoto had her own crosses to bear, but her burdens just got heavier when she fell down the Bone Eater's Well and ended up in the lap of one bad-boy Hanyou. Inuyasha/OC
1. Down the Rabbit Hole,,,Oops,Wrong Story

**Ok, this is my first ever attempt at Inuyasha anything, so I'm hoping it doesn't royally suck. First, it has no Kagome; this is an Inuyasha/OC fic. I added my own character because I felt that Kagome was a bit too weak and whiny for my tastes, so I decided to change her around a bit with an all new back-story, family, attitude and everything. This is rated M for violence, language, and later moments. It will follow the anime mostly, but I will be including some manga and a lot of my own moments. I might make a second story during the time I'm posting this one that follows at least the first two movies.**

**Before I let you go, I AM looking for a BETA for this story! PM me!**

**Onward with the story!**

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**I do not, have not, and will not ever own Inuyasha even though I wish I could.**

* * *

_A triumphant laugh filled the warm summer air as a red and silver blur streaked through the sunlit forest; a shimmering necklace clutched firmly in its fist. He ran at speeds impossible for any human to ever achieve, without so much as making a sound when his feet hit the earth. His face was mostly obscured from view from his long silver hair whipping around, making it impossible to get anything more than a brief glimpse of his features. Overly confident and ignorant, he failed to notice the archer behind him taking aim._

_ An arrow, cloaked with an ethereal light, soared from a gap in the trees just as the sprinting figure leapt in front of a massive tree. The intended target was struck directly in the heart, pinning him to the tree and causing the necklace to fly from his grasp. But he was not yet dead._

_He stared up at the unseen archer, an expression of betrayal clear on his face. With an arm extended pleadingly, his agonized voice called out to his attacker._

_"Kikyo." _

* * *

Kaori Sakamoto's eyes opened slowly as the images from her dream began to fade.

_'Why is it always that dream? I still don't know what it's about or why I keep having it.'_

Warm sunlight streamed in through the light yellow curtains over the large window, washing the room with a bright light. Open textbooks were scattered around the desk at the far corner of the room; the waste basket by the door had been newly emptied, along with a small laundry hamper overflowing with clean laundry.

Kaori sat up slowly, groaning quietly when her stiff joints cracked and popped, then stood up from the warm comfort of her bed. Grabbing the top pieces of clothing from the laundry basket and her favorite, and very worn, running shoes which were thrown carelessly under her desk, Kaori wandered into her bathroom, getting ready for a shower. Hot water cascaded over her skin invitingly while the sweet scent of her jasmine scented shampoo permeated the air.

_'I've had that dream every night for weeks and yet I've never seen that boy's face. Why do I always dream of him getting shot with that arrow?' _

Once the water had begun to run cold, she quickly dried off and dressed in the clothes she brought in with her: a loose, dark purple tank top and beige cargo pants. She took her time blow drying her hair and brushing it out until it fell in its natural dark, messy waves.

After brushing her teeth, she looked up into the wide eyes of her reflection.

Her face was angular with soft, but pronounced cheekbones while her nose was small and pixie-like. When she smiled, her eyes crinkled like they were laughing, too. A spitting image of her mother, save for the sapphire irises of her eyes. Her mother had light brown eyes that almost looked the color of caramel. But her eyes weren't focused on any of the features she shared with her mother; they were set on the long thin scar that ran over her right eyebrow, stopping at the top of her cheekbone.

_'This is a constant reminder of what I caused.' _Kaori's guilt filled thoughts said. Images of heavy rainfall along with the sound of squealing brakes and screaming flashed through her mind briefly before being shoved away. _'It's my fault she's gone.'_

"Kaori! Breakfast is ready!" Maeko shouted from outside the bathroom door, startling Kaori out of her thoughts.

"Hurry up if you want us to save you any!" Raiden added. As they ran away laughing, Kaori cracked a smile at their energetic nature.

Shaking her head at her siblings' antics, Kaori walked back to her room and put on the birthday present her mother had given last year: a centuries old necklace with little white shell-like beads and a single round, iridescent jewel in the middle. It had become a centuries old tradition in her family to pass it down to the eldest daughter on her sixteenth birthday. Her mother had given it to her on her last birthday several months ago.

After having done that, she headed downstairs where she saw her father, Aiden, serving up some steamed rice, tamayogaki, and tsukemono while Raiden and Maeko giggled and whispered conspiratorially like the seven-year-old twins they were.

"Good morning, Kaori," greeted Papa warmly. "Did you sleep well?" His voice was gentle and soothing, like he was handling a porcelain doll that might break if he spoke too loudly.

"I slept well enough," Kaori answered quietly, taking her seat at the table. Once she sat down, she figured out why her little siblings had been laughing to themselves for the last few minutes because a loud, obnoxious squeak pierced the air. She jumped up quickly and saw a small piece of a toy sticking out from under her seat cushion. "Ha-ha, very funny, you two,"

"Who said it was us?" Raiden asked innocently. It might've been slightly believable if he hadn't had a triumphant gleam in his eye.

"Well, who else who put a squeaky octopus in my chair?" Kaori questioned, holding up the aforementioned toy.

"It's Oki's toy. Maybe he put it there," suggested Maeko with a shrug.

The owner to the name bounded into the kitchen and began running laps around the table. Maeko and Raiden squealed loudly when the little pup ran under their feet.

"Oki, sit boy!" Kaori called. The little brown and white mutt sat down immediately, looking around the room for his commander. Kaori tossed the squeak toy at the small dog then sat down in her squeakless chair.

"That's enough, now. Let's eat before it starts getting cold," Papa said, sitting down at the head of the table.

After several failed attempts from the twins to feed their tsukemono to Oki under the table, breakfast was eaten fairly quickly. Kaori had just finished washing off the last plate when she turned announced to her father that she was going to go outside.

"All right, but don't leave the Shrine and don't stay out too long," He answered, looking up from his cup of tea.

"Yes, Papa," Kaori sighed as she stepped through the sliding back door. Didn't he realize that he was suffocating her with his overprotective tendencies?

Once the door closed behind her, Kaori looked around at her home. For as long as she could remember, she had lived at the Sakamoto Shrine. It has belonged to her mother's family for generations and now they owned it.

_'Mama was really proud of this place. She'd often tell me stories of the things she did while growing up here and tell me about the history behind each of the significant landmarks.'_

Kaori wandered around the grounds, stopping to look at the Sakamoto Well House. She knew she wasn't allowed in there, but curiosity often got the better of her.

Like right now.

Looking over her shoulder, Kaori started walking up the steps that led into the well house. She pushed on the door, wincing as its hinges protested about being moved. Once the door was open enough for her to slide inside, Kaori cast another spare glance over her shoulder, before going in.

_'Why is this place forbidden?'_ Kaori wondered. _'There's nothing in here except that well.'_

Kaori walked down the old wooden stairs, more than slightly disappointed with her findings. She had hoped to find something at least a little interesting in here, but all she got was a neglected, dried up well and dust.

"I don't see wh-aaaaah!" Kaori shrieked in surprise when her foot caught on the last step, causing her to fall headfirst into the well. She clamped her eyes shut, waiting to feel the impact of hitting the bottom, but it never came. Rather than sudden pain, she felt a rippling tingle start at the top of her skull and reach all the way down to the ends of her toes. It tingled the most around the base of her neck; it was an odd feeling, but not entirely unwelcome.

Kaori opened her eyes uncertainly and gasped. She was falling through a black and blue vortex with little lights floating past. As if she was gliding through the night sky.

_'This isn't happening!' _

Her fingers stretched out to touch one of the lights, but it simply passed through her hand. A small giggle of astonishment escaped her lips. Her eyes followed that single point of light until it disappeared from view. When she looked back down below, Kaori

saw a soft pink light growing larger and larger as she moved closer.

A second after she floated into the soft pink light, she saw the bottom of the well again. Still dried up and dirty as usual.

"Did that really just happen or was I just hallucinating cause I hit my head?"She figured it wasn't the latter seeing as her head didn't hurt at all. A quick assessment proved that the opening to the well was roughly fifteen feet above her head. She grabbed onto the lowest hanging vine and began climbing the coarse stones; their jagged edges scraping across the exposed skin of her knees and shins.

Grabbing the loose wooden beams supporting the well, she hoisted herself out; immensely thankful the boards didn't break.

"What the hell?" Kaori gasped. Instead of the dingy, old well house, Kaori was in the middle of a small meadow with an abundance of sweet smelling wildflowers, surrounded by a forest of towering trees.

_'Where am I?' _

"Hello?" Kaori called out loudly; her only reply was the cheerful singing of the sparrows and the lazy buzzing of working bees. "Is anyone there?"

_'This majorly sucks. I have no idea how the hell this happened, but I think it's safe to say that I'm about as far away from home as possible.'_

Deciding that sitting on the side of the well all day waiting for someone to walk by, was stupid, Kaori commenced her trek into the undergrowth. The leaves rustled loudly under her careless strides; anything with working ears would've been able to hear her with very little difficulty.

After a few minutes of crashing through the greenery, she found herself in a smaller clearing with a single, ancient tree directly in the center. Its vast canopy of leaves shrouded most of the sunlight, but several rays still poked through the swaying gaps. Walking around its broad trunk, Kaori stopped dead in her tracks.

A very familiar boy was impaled to the tree trunk about six feet off the ground. His long silver hair swayed gently in the breeze while his eyes remained shut. If it weren't for the fraying, weathered arrow protruding from his chest, she might've thought he was merely sleeping. Vines wrapped around his torso and legs, appearing as if they were cradling him. Whether they were doing so protectively or possessively, she couldn't say for certain.

"H-how? He's just in my dreams...Right?" Kaori stuttered, completely blown away by the unconscious figure in front of her.

Oddly enough, she wasn't the least bit scared; confused and surprised, but not scared. In fact, she felt a strong compulsion pulling her closer and closer to his slumbering form. Thankfully, a portion of the tree's roots stood up from the ground like a large platform, allowing Kaori climb up to his height with relative ease. Once she was eye level with this mysterious boy, Kaori was able to study him much more intently.

She allowed her eyes to wander over his features slowly from the strong line of his jaw, to the little pointed tip of his nose, to his two pink lips parted just a breath's width apart. Long silver tendrils of hair brushed across his cheeks in the breeze. Kaori deliberately brushed his bangs aside to get a clearer look of his face. She could tell that this boy was definitely very handsome, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she wished that his eyes would open.

Kaori's sapphire eyes trailed up to the two white, fuzzy points on top of his head.

Dog ears.

Her fingers itched to just reach out and give them a rub. Were they as soft as they looked?

_'I don't know if I should. What if he wakes up?' _Kaori inquired. _'Still...what's the harm in touching them just this once?'_

With shaking, hesitant fingers, Kaori gently touched the back of his left ear. It was softer than velvet. A nervous, awed laugh bubbled out of her lips. Bringing up her other hand, she began to rub his ears slowly and tenderly.

The sound of thundering footsteps reached Kaori's ears, but before she could even turn around fully, a gruff, male voice called out to her.

"_Get away from there!_"

A volley of arrows shot toward Kaori and all she could do was turn into the boy's unresponsive body and pray that none of the arrows hit. Several dull thuds to her left and right told her that the arrows had struck the dense tree trunk, but she didn't dare move.

It was only when she heard footsteps directly behind her that she turned, but it was too late. Several men had bows and arrows aimed directly at her while two more approached her with a length of partially fraying rope.

_'No way in hell I'm going down without a fight!'_

After a brief hesitation, Kaori jumped down from her tree root podium then hightailed it into the dense thicket. Branches scratched bitingly at the skin of her forearms and cheeks, but she persisted. The men's shouts were becoming increasingly louder as they closed in on Kaori.

At one point, she turned her head back for a brief second to see if she could catch a glimpse of her pursuers. What she failed to notice was the large fallen tree blocking her path to freedom. Kaori turned back around in time to see it before she tripped over it and face planted into the dirt.

Before she had time to pick herself back up and start running again, one of the men with the rope attempted to pin her down; Kaori thrashed against his grip. She flailed wildly and sent a well aimed kick to the man's groin, causing him to whimper pathetically and loosen his grip on her.

Just when she thought she could squirm away from her captor, another two men caught up to her and effectively pinned her down to the forest floor.

"Let me go!" She growled when a one of the men clamped down on her shoulders a bit too tightly. While he held her down, one of the other two men tied her hands behind her back in a fairly tight knot while the third tied her ankles together.

"You put up some fight, I'll give you that," The man she kicked chuckled wryly. "Just not enough of one."

* * *

"Let me go, you demented jackasses!" Kaori shouted at the crowd of gathering villagers. After she had been successfully tied down, she had been thrown over someone's shoulder like a sack of potatoes and dropped off in the middle of the village, where everyone left their huts to come and gawk at her.

None of the villagers were listening to what Kaori was shouting because they were all too engrossed in their own conversations.

"-of course it is! And right in the middle of rice planting season, too," one of the villagers complained.

"-she could be a kitsune in disguise?" Asked one woman holding a sleeping infant.

"Nah, them shape changing foxes are a lot trickier than that." replied the woman's companion.

Their voices droned on and on. After a while, Kaori began to tune them out until their voices had become a monotonous drone in the back of her mind.

_'Why does everyone have a topknot on their head? What is this? A Medieval Japan cosplay?'_

"Make way for High Priestess Kaede!"A voice in the crowd shouted. The villagers all parted to give way for an elderly woman wearing an eye patch over her right eye, carrying a small pot in her left hand and longbow in her right hand. A small quiver of arrows was slung over her shoulders and she marched up to Kaori, showing no fear, or any emotion at all. A younger man, who trailed a little ways behind the priestess, took her bow and backed up two steps.

The elderly woman reached into the pot, pulled out a handful of fine dirt and threw it at Kaori.

"Hey! Cut that out!" Kaori complained, ducking her head to avoid getting the dirt in her eyes.

"Demon, be gone!" The priestess commanded, throwing more dirt at Kaori.

_'Demon?!' _"I'm not a freaking demon, okay?!"

The woman ceased her torrent of dirt. "Are ye not?"

"Do I look like a demon to you?" Kaori grumbled, glaring up at the elderly woman.

_'Why the hell did she just throw massive handfuls of dirt on me? And why is she asking if I'm a demon?'_

Kaede ignored Kaori's indignant comment. "Then why were ye found in the Forest of Inuyasha?"

The younger man holding Kaede's bow leaned forward and whispered. "She could be a spy from another village,"

Kaede glanced over at him. "In that case, she would be a fool. Who would invade a village such as ours?" At the end of her sentence, the aged priestess was looking at Kaori with a stunned expression on her lined face.

"Let me have a good look at ye," Kaede took a few steps forward, then reached out to turn Kaori's head in several different directions. "Look clever, girl, or be a halfwit?"

"Who are you calling a halfwit, you babaa!" Kaori growled.

The surrounding crowd gasped in astonishment at her outburst, but Kaede paid it absolutely no heed.

"It's there, though I know not why," Kaede said, staring down at Kaori, and then she addressed the villagers. "Untie this girl at once; she is not here to harm us!"

_'Duh! About time you realized that.'_

Instantly, two men surged forward and began cutting away at the ropes binding Kaori's limbs together. Once the bonds were cut, she began massaging her wrists. The ropes had caused minor burns from all of her struggling earlier.

"Tell me, child. What do they call you?" Kaede asked once Kaori had risen from her spot on the ground.

"My name is Kaori."

"Well then, Kaori, please allow me to cook ye some dinner in my hut," Kaede said. Now that she was standing, Kaori noticed that she was at least a good head taller than the elderly priestess.

"Thank you, Lady Kaede," Kaori replied, now feeling a bit bad for calling the woman "babaa".

Kaede quietly led the way to her hut, which was just a short walk southwest from the village square. They passed by several other huts along the way. Children waved happily to Kaede as she passed while the men and women bowed respectfully. Finally the two women reached Kaede's hut. It was a modest wooden hut, with only one window, as far as Kaori could tell, and a bamboo curtain covering the entryway.

After they were settled inside, Kaede picked up a moderate sized pot from the floor and set it on the wood burning stove.

"Could ye go outside and grab some firewood while I cut the vegetables?" Kaede requested, picking up a small basket of fresh carrots, potatoes, and onions.

"Of course, Lady Kaede," Kaori responded, quickly walking back outside. Behind the hut was a substantial pile of freshly chopped firewood, sitting neatly together. When Kaori bent down to pick up a few pieces, a strong breeze blew past making her hair whip around uncontrollably. Something about this wind didn't feel right; it was eerie and malicious.

_'I don't know what it is, but I've got a feeling that something bad is about to happen.'_

Just as quickly as it came, the wind vanished without a trace, taking the ominous feeling with it. Kaori took a good long look at the forest behind Lady Kaede's house, as if something would suddenly appear from its shadows; nothing came.

Kaori quickly scooped up an armful of the firewood, then headed back inside. Kaede had already cut all of the vegetables and was working on skinning at least a second fish.

"Thank ye for the help, Kaori," Kaede said kindly, not looking up from her task.

"It was no trouble, really," Kaori looked down at her shoes. Kaede had only been kind to her since she was released, and she still hadn't apologized for insulting the woman. "Lady Kaede? I just wanted to say sorry for being so rude earlier. I shouldn't have called you "babaa" and I hope you can forgive me and my disrespect," Kaori bent down in a low bow, awaiting the woman's response.

"It's quite alright, child. Ye were just acting in a way that was to be expected from someone that was wrongfully treated by absolute strangers in an unfamiliar territory. I bear no animosity or grudges against ye."

"Thank you, Kaede," Kaori said, bowing once more to her kind host. "Is there anything else I can do for you while dinner cooks?"

Kaede simply shook her head while she loaded the fish and vegetables into the large pot. "There is nothing more to do except be patient." She turned to Kaori, gazing at her attentively. How did this girl look so much like her long deceased sister?

"Lady Kaede...I was wondering...where exactly am I?"

"Ye are in Japan, in the village that has long since been under my protection. For many years I have lived here and have guarded it against every invader that attempted to harm us," Kaede said, stirring the stew. A mouthwatering smell filled the hut and wafted out into the dimming sky.

"What have you been protecting it from? Wouldn't the younger men be better guardians for the village?" Kaori questioned, completely confused.

"Nay, the men cannot protect themselves effectively against demons. The weaker ones they can beat easily, but there are many powerful ones that roam the forest; far too powerful for mere swords and arrows to defeat," As she spoke, Kaede ladled out some strew into a bowl and offered it out to Kaori.

"Thank you, Lady Kaede. This looks delicious," Kaori slurped down some of the warm stew quickly, burning the tip of her tongue in the process. Kaede watched her intently as she sat down on the small bamboo mat beside Kaori with her own bowl of stew.

"Bear us no ill will, child. For though I now see that ye mean us no harm," Kaori laughed internally as the memory of kicking the villager in the groin resurfaced. While she was visiting that find memory, Kaori nearly missed what the elderly lady said next. "In these troubled times of war, no stranger may be welcomed among us without deep distrust. Thankfully, not many foes have appeared as of late,"

"War? You mean between you and the demons?" Kaori inquired. "I guess I'm not in Tokyo anymore after all..." That last sentence was mumbled, but Kaede still heard it.

"Tok-ee-oh? Never heard of it. Is that where your people are from?"

"Yes, but it's a very, very long way away from here. I just wish I knew how to get back," Kaori sighed, gulping down more stew.

_'Papa, Maeko, and Raiden must be worried about me. After all, I did deliberately go into the one place on the whole shrine that was forbidden; they would never think to look for me there. Even if they did look there, they wouldn't see me because I fell down a magical portal at the bottom of the well that transported me several centuries into the past.' _Unconsciously, Kaori put her hand over the necklace that was tucked away underneath her shirt.

"Do ye have a family in this Tok-ee-oh?"

"Yeah, I have a father, a little brother and sister," Kaori sighed.

"What of ye mother?" Kaede asked, taking in mouthful of her stew.

Kaori's eyes grew darker and glistened with unshed tears. "I don't want to talk about it,"

Suddenly, a series of thundering crashes shook the ground like an earthquake while a warning bell clanged from somewhere nearby. An ear splitting roar bellowed out over the village, causing Kaori to tightly clamp her palms over her ears. She and Kaede ran out of the hut in time to see all of the villagers flocking in one direction, towards the crashing.

"What's going on?!" Kaede gasped, looking around.

Just as the words left her mouth, a giant centipede with a demented woman's head and torso, towered over them with a limp horse grasped tightly in its jaws. Blood flowed freely from the puncture wounds; it ran down the demon's chin and chest, and clinging to slick strands of her jet black hair. Villagers shot arrows, threw torches, and even charged at the beast with swords, but nothing pierced the centipede's tough hide.

Lady Centipede thrashed her long body around, crushing more houses and villagers in her wake. With a pleased hiss, she flung the horse from her jaws. Kaori shrieked as the one thousand pound horse flew towards her. Grabbing Kaede by the arm, she dragged the elderly priestess far back and to the side so that the horse landed lifelessly several feet in front of them. The foul odor of the freely pooling blood was enough to make Kaori's stomach lurch painfully.

"What the fuck is _THAT_?!" Kaori shouted, staring up at the bloody covered demon.

"Where is it? I must have the Sacred Jewel!" The demon bellowed, turning it's blank, white eyes in her direction. "Give it to me!"

It began slithering deliberately in Kaori's direction, a malicious smile on its lips. Lunging to the side, Kaori and Kaede barely dodged the first attack. Just as they righted themselves, the demon came back for two more failed swipes at their heads.

"It said Sacred Jewel!" Kaede gasped. "Bear ye it still?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Kaori argued, coughing up a lungful of dirt.

The villagers continued to defend their home, shooting arrow after arrow at the monster. They bounced off of the centipede's skin harmlessly, like if you were attacking her with a pillow instead of a large volley of arrows.

"I must have it! I must!" Lady Centipede cackled, spinning into an enormous tornado, barreling over anything and everything in its path. Villagers were crushed by it as well as the buildings they attempted to defend so dutifully. Women and children fled from the huts, running as far away from the demon as possible.

Kaori felt utterly helpless as she watched the massacre from the sidelines where she was hiding. Horror and disgust rolled off of her in waves. How could something like a jewel be worth the lives of so many people?

Two men rushed up, standing as a barrier in front of Kaede and Kaori, weapons at the ready."Spears and arrows; nothing works!" One of them shouted, not turning back to look at them.

"We must lure it to the Dry Well," Kaede responded, staring up at the creature.

"Dry Well? What Dry Well?" Kaori asked. '_She couldn't possibly mean the one I came through. Could she?'_

"In the Forest of Inuyasha." '_Well, damn. It is the one I climbed out of_.' Kaede and the two men stepped forward a bit. The men raised their spears while Kaede reached for a bow and quiver of arrows from a fallen villager. Kaori stayed behind, unsure of what to do and unwilling to become a interference.

Then, something unexpected happened.

The necklace around Kaori's neck began to quickly grow warmer, begging for attention. It pulsed with a resolute power, giving it the feeling of a heartbeat. Kaori reached up and held her necklace in the palm of her hand. A soft pink light glowed enchantingly around the center jewel.

_'It's...it's my fault. I lured the centipede here with this...' _Her fist closed tightly around the jewel, stuffing it back down the collar of her shirt. _'If it wants this thing so bad, it better be up for a chase.'_

"Lady Kaede, which way is the forest?" Kaori called over the bellowing of the centipede. Before Kaede had a chance to answer, Kaori saw a dim light glowing over the tree line behind her. That must be it!

She abruptly turned on her heel and took off, completely ignoring the calls of Kaede.

"HEY, UGLY!" Kaori shouted up at the centipede cyclone. "You want the Sacred Jewel?" The centipede froze in its torrent of destruction, narrowing its sights on the loud, oddly dressed young woman far below her. "Try and take it from me!"

Without bothering to check and see if she was being chased, Kaori sprinted in the direction of the trees. Sliding down the small hill, she crashed through the shallow river waiting at the bottom, kicking up water to her thighs. A heavy slithering told her that the centipede wasn't too far behind.

Kaori continued to run straight out of the river and down a long dirt road that lead directly past the Forest of Inuyasha.

_'Why the hell did I taunt this thing? I don' t even know if this _is _the Sacred Jewel! Still, at least I'm getting further and further away from all of those people.' _One of the centipede's arms reached out and grabbed a tight hold on the side of her shirt. Kaori's eyes widened.

"HELP!"

With that one plea for help, a wave of power burst out of Kaori's body, rippling through the airwaves at unseen speeds. It traveled over the river, past the roads, and all through the trees where it hit the unconscious hanyou full force. The powerful wavelength rebounded off of him several times before taking effect.

At first glance, you might've missed it.

His ears twitched; once... twice... then his fingernails extended into deadly claws stronger than titanium. His eyes flashed open, flashing two angry ambers.

Kaori thrashed in the demon's grip for just a moment before the flimsy fabric shredded with a loud rip. There was now a large rip down the left side of her shirt, showing most of her ribs, just stopping where the band of her bra started. Feet on the ground again, Kaori began running full force up a ridiculously steep hill.

"The jewel; GIVE IT TO ME!" Lady Centipede demanded, slithering up behind Kaori.

"Fuck you!" Kaori shouted over her shoulder just a split second before the centipede crashed into the side of the hill. The blast from the force of the hit caused Kaori to go flying through the air. She screamed as she did several flips in midair before crashing onto her stomach, letting all of the air out of her lungs in a loud 'whoosh'.

"Hello, Kikyo," a sneering voice said above her. "Playing with bugs now, are we?"

* * *

**Ok, first, I'm going to answer some questions before I get a bunch of reviews asking them.**

**Kaori's name is pronounced Kay-or-ee.**

**Her past will be explained later so don't go asking silly stuff like "Why does she keep thinking something is her fault?" or "Why is she dreaming if Inuyasha?"**

**And yes, she is going to have a bit of a hot temper, but it'll make for some really interesting (and possibly steamy) moments later ;)**

**Japanese Vocabulary:**

**Tamayogaki: a rolled omelet usually served with a certain type of radish.**

**Tsukemono: various types of pickles**

**Babaa: a rude derogatory name for "old woman". It's basically calling them an old hag.**

**Alright, that seems to be it for now! Review and tell me what you think! Criticism is accepted gratefully! **

**~Genie **


	2. Of Youkai and Subjugation

**I wanna thank my first reviewer rainbow12345 for…well, being the first to review. :) **

**And I want all of my readers to know that several episodes will be omitted because they either a) don't make sense if I add them, b) they don't matter later in the series, or c) I just really hate them. Just to give you an example: **

**I'm not going to be putting in the episode with the mask that glues to your face that attacked Kagome's grandfather in season…one I think. Simply because I just can't seem to find a way to write that in. I'll find some other way for them to get another Shikon Jewel shard.**

* * *

_That voice... It can't be...' _ Kaori looked up from the ground and gasped. A pair of supernatural golden eyes was smirking down at her. She was immediately thankful for choosing cargo pants since her legs were spread out in such a way that if she had been wearing a skirt, it would've left nothing to the imagination.

"H-how are you even alive?" Kaori demanded. "You've got an arrow sticking out of your heart!" She pointed at the aforementioned item protruding from the hanyou's chest.

"Why so surprised? Shouldn't be considering you're the one that shot me with it?" Inuyasha laughed scornfully. "Nah, I'm still alive and kicking."

"I didn't do that to you! I don't even know how to hold a bow and arrow much less shoot it and hit a moving target." The ground beneath her rumbled slightly, throwing her off balance for a moment. "What the hell?"

"Why're ya taking so long to kill it? Just do her like you did me," He said, seeming to enjoy Kaori's moment of surprise. "You look pretty dumb there, Kikyo. The Kikyo I know wouldn't waste her time and would just kill the damned thing."

_'Why the hell does he keep calling me Kikyo? Seriously, do I _look _like Kikyo_? _I've only been talking to this guy for thirty seconds and I already want him to shut the hell up!'_

"Kikyo this, Kikyo that," Kaori snapped, jumping up from the ground. "I am not this Kikyo person! My name is-"

The silver haired hanyou's ear twitched twice; a growl began rumbling quietly in his chest. "She's here."

The centipede youkai shot up from the ground, cackling wildly. "Give it to me! I can sense it calling to me!" It hissed, wrapping its massive body loosely around Kaori, but before she could completely close the gap, a few harpoon arrows shot past her, losing themselves in the dense of trees. The Mukade-youkai snarled in their direction threateningly, but it didn't deter the fighting villagers' spirits. The continued shooting until couple of the harpoons finally struck their mark, digging deep into the monster's flesh.

"That's it! Now pull!" commanded one of the men. The centipede-youkai narrowed her sights on the villagers dragging her away from her prize.

"You're pathetic, Kikyo," Inuyasha scoffed, looking away from the girl. This was not the Kikyo he knew and thought he loved; she'd changed. Even if he wasn't currently pinned to the Sacred Tree, he wouldn't lift a finger to help. All he'd do is sit back and let this insufferable priestess struggle alone.

"Listen up; I am NOT Kikyo! Got it, mutt?" Kaori got up close to his face, glaring daggers. For some reason, this boy infuriated her to the point of violence and she'd only met him a few minutes earlier.

'_That's gotta be some kind of record for me…'_

"And I'm saying you gotta be her!" Inuyasha argued, sniffing deliberately as if to back his next sentence. "Cause if you're not, there's no way that you could smell so-" he paused and sniffed the air again.

_'It's not her... She smells close to Kikyo, but not quite.' _Inuyasha's thoughts swirled around in astonishment. His demonic amber eyes zeroed in on her angry mortal ones. _'Her eyes aren't the same...Kikyo's were a dark brown; this girl has such a bright blue.'_

"You're not her," Inuyasha whispered, then his face paled. Had he really just been yelling at some girl he didn't even know? Sure, she _looked_ a bit like Kikyo, but she wasn't her.

"Look who's finally getting it!" She retorted. "My name never has been and never will be Kikyo. My name is Kaori!"

Inuyasha looked away. He looked both annoyed and disappointed as if he was hoping to see or verbally lash out at this Kikyo person."You're right. Kikyo was cuter, much cuter."

Kaori's cheeks flushed red in anger. "Why you-" Before she could finish the sentence, several pairs of hands seized her waist, pulling her away. She screamed as her feet were lifted off the ground. In a moment of self preservation, she grabbed onto the nearest thing to keep her grounded: Inuyasha's ears.

"Let go of me!" She kicked at the air, hoping to hit the centipede holding her; instead she only managed to kick Inuyasha in the stomach.

"Ow! Let go, let go! Those aren't meant to be pulled on!" Inuyasha yelped painfully.

"Give me the Sacred Jewel!" Lady Centipede demanded, pulling harder on Kaori whose grip on Inuyasha had slipped away.

_'Sacred Jewel?!" _Inuyasha looked at the girl currently caught in the centipede's grasp. Could she possibly have the one thing he had lost his life for? He noticed a pink and white thing sparkle from the collar of Kaori's shirt. _'The Shikon no Tama! It's around her neck!'_

"Let me go!" Kaori shouted, squirming to get away from the youkai's bared fangs. Without thinking about her actions, she thrust her hand forward at the demon; a blast of blinding white light shot out of her palm, striking Lady Centipede.

Kaori crumpled to the ground as several of the demon's arms. _'Ew, ew, ew! That's so disgusting!' _ Where the limbs had been severed from their body, were sending up puffs of smoke, like they were burned off.

"How the hell did I just do that? I burned her arms off with a light that came out of my hand!" A bright pink glow started from under her shirt, shining easily through the thin fabric of her shirt as if it wasn't even there to begin with. The jewel around her neck began heating up again, but this time it was almost painfully hot."What's going on?"

"There it is! My Sacred Jewel!" Lady Centipede hissed with glee, rocketing forward, intent on getting to the stunned mortal girl.

Kaori was nearly paralyzed in fear. Somehow at the last second, she unfroze enough to dive to the right just as the youkai soared through the spot she had previously occupied. The demon crashed into several trees with a screech of fury. Kaori shrieked and half ran/half crawled away from her previous location when she realized that she had landed on a few of the detached arms.

Sharp teeth pierced her collarbone and shoulder; a blood curdling scream tore from Kaori's lips. Blood flowed freely where the demon's teeth latched on, staining her already shredded shirt with the sticky substance. The Mukade-youkai thrashed back and forth, flinging the mortal in her grip in every direction, hoping to rip the Shikon Jewel from this pathetic girl's neck.

Inuyasha stared up at Kaori being thrown around like a rag doll, flinching at her screams of pair and terror. Who was this girl? She was just someone who meant absolutely nothing to Inuyasha, and yet he felt an undeniable urge to get her to some sort of safety.

'_What is going on with me?'_

The necklace was eventually ripped from Kaori's possession-the chain destroyed-and she was thrown through the air. The only thing that saved her from instantaneous death was the fact she hit the centipede's body in numerous places on the way down, slowing her decent. The Sacred Jewel hit the soil just a few feet away from Kaori's hand.

"Give me the jewel. Quick!" Inuyasha ordered frantically.

"Huh?" a dazed Kaori mumbled.

"Hurry! Do you want to live?"

Kaori's mind cleared enough for her to process the order and reached for it, but just as her fingers touched the smooth surface of the Sacred Jewel, Lady Centipede wrapped her massive body around Kaori and the Sacred Tree holding Inuyasha, her muscles around them. Kaori and Inuyasha were crushed together painfully

"I'd heard some half demon spawn was after the Sacred Jewel." Jeered the monster, lowering herself to just above eyelevel. "It's you, isn't it?!"

_'Half demon?' _Kaori looked up at Inuyasha, completely dazed and terrified. She expected to see him scared too, but he just smirked evilly at the demon whose body was constricting around his own.

"Half's all I need to kick your scaly hide," He laughed. "Anything more than that'd be a waste of my time."

_'Kicking her sorry ass wouldn't take much if I was free from this damned arrow!'_

"Can you fight her?"

"Huh?"

"Could you fight this thing if you were free?" Kaori cried out when her shoulder was rammed closer into the sturdy hanyou.

"What can he do, pinned there like that?" The abomination behind them laughed scornfully. "Or you for that matter? You're powerless to stop me! You're helpless, the both of you!" The centipede youkai swooped down and slurped up the Sacred Jewel with her outrageously long tongue.

"Don't you _dare_!" roared Inuyasha. _'Damn it!'_

"Lady Kaede! It's swallowed the Shikon Jewel!" shouted one of the men from the village.

"What should we do?" demanded another.

The severed arms of the centipede rose up from the ground, flying towards their original spots on the demon's body and began reattaching themselves. "At last! My power is complete!" The jewel-infused creature shrieked victoriously as it shed the vaguely humanoid skin, revealing a purple-ish hide with horrible pink splotches everywhere and two large, red eyes. Kaori turned her face into the soft, fabric of the half youkai's haori, thoroughly revolted.

"That thing is disgusting!" She whispered into his chest, not really noticing what she was doing. Though, above her, Inuyasha did. He had slightly frozen when he felt her hot breath seeping through his clothing.

_'Why is she doing this? She doesn't even know me, but she buried her face into me like a scared child.' _His thoughts tried to find reason in Kaori's actions, but failed.

Kaori clutched at his clothing with white-knuckled fists once she felt the Mukade-youkai's form begin tightening around her.

"It hurts…help me…" She groaned, trying her hardest not to start crying. Her shoulder felt like it had been ripped in half, and it getting crushed into the boy behind her wasn't helping.

"Hey, can you pull out this arrow?" Inuyasha asked, not looking down at her. Kaori just made a confused sound in response. "Look, can you pull out this arrow or not?" He growled.

"I can try…ah!" She whimpered; her ribs were beginning to feel as if they'd never return to their normal shape. Just as Kaori reached up to grab the arrow, a voice behind her froze her in her tracks.

"Nay, child! Once the arrow is removed, then Inuyasha will be free to destroy us all!" Kaede called out.

_'His name is Inuyasha?' _

"Don't be stupid, you babaa! At least with me, you have a chance. Or do want to take your chances with a thing that's gonna eat you?!" He snapped, nodding in the still transforming demon's direction. "And what about you?" Inuyasha asked, staring down at Kaori. "Are you ready to die yet?"

Kaori glanced over shoulder at Kaede, who was looking at her pleadingly. "I don't think I have many other options at this moment!" She turned her attention back to Inuyasha.

"But right now," She groaned, stretching up her injured arm. "I want to live!" As soon as her hand closed around the shaft, it flared a blinding pink light for several seconds, then dissolved into absolute nothingness. For a moment, everything was still. Then the stillness was interrupted; Inuyasha's whole being began pulsating with an awakened power.

Kaori slumped down, feeling lightheaded from the blood loss. Her head rested against Inuyasha's chest which rumbled in satisfaction. His low chuckles rapidly escalated into victorious, malicious cackles.

The centipede growled, sensing that its control was waning, and constricted itself as tight as she could around the tree. The Sacred Tree cracked in several places as a result of the sheer force of her strength, but it was short-lived. With a tremendous roar, Inuyasha blasted out of the youkai's hold, flinging bits of the body in all directions. Kaori was thrown out alongside the bits of centipede, twisting in midair so that she would hit her back or sides rather than her head.

''_Bout time!' _Inuyasha somersaulted several times in mid-air before landing in a graceful crouch behind the enraged youkai.

"Wicked child!" The creature hissed.

"Nasty hag!" cackled Inuyasha, cracking his claws. He shot up into the air, meeting the demon's attack. "IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!" He slashed the centipede through her open maw, easily splitting her in half. Blood and bug parts rained down as the centipede exploded from the force of his attack. Inuyasha landed neatly on the ground, observing his work. "Heh, I was expecting more of a challenge."

He glanced over at Kaori, who was just beginning to sit up, rubbing her left side. She looked at the bits of corpse surrounding her and the blood soaked ground.

'_Whoa…did he do all of this?' _She stared at Inuyasha in awe. How could one guy do all of that? A flicker of movement in her peripheral vision attracted her attention. A few pieces of the deceased centipede's body began twitching.

"Why's it moving? I thought being sliced into a hundred pieces would kill it!"

"Find the glowing flesh, Kaori! Quickly!" instructed Kaede from behind her. "That's where the jewel will be. It must be removed at once, lest the flesh of Mistress Centipede revive."

"Whoa, freeze and rewind! You mean to tell me that even though she's been slashed to bits, that jewel can piece her back together?!" Kaori demanded. Kaede nodded grimly. Groaning, Kaori began looking at each of the body parts, searching for a glow. "It's that one!" She said, pointing to a fairly large piece several yards away.

Kaede hobbled up to it and plunged her hand in without a second thought. _'Ok, that's disgusting,' _Once she pulled her hand out, the corpse's skin disintegrated, leaving several scattered piles of bones. Kaede turned to Kaori, reaching for the young girl's hand. She dropped the little jewel into Kaori's palm and closed her fingers around it.

"Only ye may possess the jewel. I do not yet know why ye have come by this, but I know that ye are to be its protector," The elderly priestess said, looking deep into Kaori's blue eyes.

"Why would an heirloom from my family be wanted by demons?" She whispered mainly to herself. "It's been in my family for years and it's never caused anything like this before," A loud crack startled her from her stupor.

"That's because you stupid mortals can't use it!" Inuyasha sneered. 'So why bother to keep it? If you hand over the Shikon Jewel right now, I won't have to start sharpening my claws on you." He said, cracking his knuckles.

"What the hell?" Kaori shouted, closing her fist around the jewel.

"Pay no heed to Inuyasha, child." Kaede commanded, stepping in as a barrier between her and the smirking hanyou. The villagers half surrounded Inuyasha, raising their weapons at the ready.

"I'm gonna give you one last chance to willingly hand over the jewel before I slice your hands off to get it," Inuyasha said impatiently.

"Like hell I will! I don't care how badly you want this or not; you aren't getting it!" Kaori snapped, taking a step back.

A low growl echoed from Inuyasha's chest. "I hate having to wait," He began sprinting towards her like a train. "And I hate the smell of you!" Kaori turned on her heel, taking off in a random direction. Keeping her head lowered, she sprinted off into the forest, keenly aware of the footsteps following closely behind her. The wound in her shoulder flared up again, blood oozed out as she tried to outrun the enraged hanyou. She stumbled forward, falling to the ground at the same time Inuyasha's attack sliced through the air where her head had been moments before. He flew over her, landing about ten feet away with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Want me to scratch your back?" He taunted, flexing his fingers.

"Did…did you seriously say that?" Kaori laughed breathlessly. Her breathing was coming in short pants now and her vision was becoming blurry.

Dozens of pairs of feet thundered nearby before the villagers and Kaede came into view. Some of the braver ones shot arrows at Inuyasha, but they bounced off of him, shattering completely. Clearly insulted, Inuyasha bounded forward, slicing into the trees above the villagers, and watched with satisfaction when the trees fell towards the scattering mortals. He hopped up onto a freshly cut tree stump.

"Who do you people think I am?" scoffed the half-youkai. "You think you can harm me like I did that centipede?" His ears twitched in the direction of the mortal girl trying to make off with his jewel. "Oh, no you don't!" He growled, leaping into the trees above her.

"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this," Kaede murmured, pulling out a strange necklace from her robes.

"Prepare yourself!" Inuyasha shouted, jumping out of the tree above Kaori. He slashed through the air just behind the stumbling girl, hitting the ground with tremendous force. The blast threw Kaori from her feet and the jewel from her hand.

"Heh, now it's mine!" The focused hanyou failed to take noticed of the priestess behind him, holding up the, now glowing, necklace and praying. Sparks of pink lightning shot from her clasped hands and towards Inuyasha, solidifying around his neck.

"What the-" he said, stunned at the sudden appearance of the necklace. "What the heck are these?"

"Quickly, child! The word of Subjugation," Kaede called out to Kaori, who was currently sprawled out on the forest floor.

"What word?"

"It matters not; your word has power to hold his spirit!" As Kaede spoke, Kaori scooped up the Shikon Jewel and began running as fast as she could with her blurring vision. When she paused to look over her shoulder, the ground beneath her feet crumbled away, causing her to slide down a very steep, but thankfully short cliff. The Sacred Jewel tumbled out of her hand once more, rolling away across a rickety wooden bridge.

Up above her, Inuyasha appeared over the treetops, laughing. "How can you expect to overpower me when you can't even walk straight?" He landed silently on the bridge, letting the Sacred Jewel roll directly into his fist. _'Finally, the Shikon no Tama belongs to me!'_

'_Word of subjugation? What word of subjugation?!' _Kaori thought desperately. Her eyes flitted to Inuyasha's tiny dog ears and a picture of Oji popped into her head. _'I guess I'll just try Oji's command.'_

"SIT BOY!" Inuyasha's eyes widened as the beads felt like they had turned to lead, dragging him face-first into the ground. He yelped when his nose made contact with the wooden boards underneath his feet. The jewel slipped from his hand and began rolling towards the edge of the bridge. Kaori shot forward and grabbed it a split second before it fell.

"I can't believe that worked!"Kaori laughed weakly. _'This could be fun.'_

"What the heck is this thing?!" He demanded, yanking at the beads around his neck, trying to lift them over his head. Each time he'd raise them to his chin, they glowed and pulled themselves back down.

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha, but even you lack the power to remove it," called Kaede from atop the short cliff.

Inuyasha ceased from pulling on his new collar, to glare up at the old woman. "We'll see about that, babaa! I'd come up there and finish you off if you didn't look half dead already!"

Kaede just closed her eyes and shook her head. "The word, please."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Kaori smirked at Inuyasha, who visibly flinched. "Sit boy."

Inuyasha let out a high pitched yelp as he slammed into the bridge once more. But this time he hit it, it shattered from underneath his feet, letting him fall into the river below. Kaori glanced through the new hole, seeing Inuyasha climb out of the river, shaking the water from his body and clothes like a dog. She placed a hand on her head when her vision began going black around the edges

Inuyasha could see Kaori up above him and sent a withering glare up at her, but it faltered when the young girl collapsed; her limp hand falling through the gap in the bridge.

"Kaori!"

* * *

**Japanese Vocabulary!**

**Hanyou: Half Demon**

**Youkai: demon**

**Mukade: centipede**


	3. Faceplants 1 2 and 3

Inuyasha scaled the steep incline along the river's edge in two long bounds. "What happened to her?" he asked, crossing the bridge to look at the girl who held so much power over him.

"Kaori-sama has lost too much blood. I fear if I do not treat her soon, she will perish," Kaede replied, propping up Kaori's torso slightly, just enough to get her head above her wound. "You, Inuyasha, must carry her back to my hut while I travel by horse."

"What?!" shouted Inuyasha indignantly. "You've gotta be fucking nuts if you think I'm gonna do anything to help this wench, babaa!"

Kaede narrowed her one good eye at Inuyasha. "Please Inuyasha, there is a greater price at stake than one girl's life," at this, Inuyasha snorted. "There is a reason why she carries the Shikon Jewel and why she was able to free you from the Sacred Tree."

Inuyasha crossed his arms defensively. "There's no way in hell I'm helping her," He nodded tersely at Kaori. "As far as I'm concerned, she was there just to transport the jewel and get in my way. It's just one girl! You humans die every day and there's nothing we can do to stop it. How important can the cost of one life be?"

"Ye do not yet understand, nor do I, the bond the two of ye share already. Your destiny is as linked to her as her destiny is linked to ye."

"Feh," Inuyasha glanced at Kaori on the ground, feeling his stomach clench at the paleness of her cheeks and lips; his eyes trailed to the edge of what he knew to be a really horrible, bleeding bite mark starting at the bottom of her collarbone.

She was dying.

"Alright, I'll carry her back!" He growled, scooping up the thin girl bridal style. "Just to get things straight, I'm not doing this because you convinced me." With that, he shot off like a bullet through the trees. His sensitive ears picked up Kaede's parting words just before the old woman was out of earshot.

"Thank ye, Inuyasha."

As he deftly sprinted through the mass of foliage, easily dodging the low hanging branches, his attention split between his destination and the unconscious girl in his arms. He could feel each slow beat of her heart, and hear every one of her shallow breaths. Every time Kaori's breathing faltered, so did his running.

_'Don't you dare die on me, wench. I'm not gonna let you give up that easily.'_

Inuyasha put on a burst of speed, rocketing out of the trees and down the hill behind the village. His nose pointed him in the correct direction, leading him to the solitary hut on the other end of the community. He ignored the wide-eyes stares or the shocked whispers that followed him as he ran.

With one more massive leap, he landed directly in front of Kaede's door. Pushing the bamboo curtain aside, Inuyasha gently deposited Kaori on the futon, and then sat guard by her head. The old priestess wouldn't think twice to hit him with a sacred arrow if he let anything happen to Kaori.

Inuyasha's amber eyes focused on the only other living occupant in the room. Her jet black hair was splayed out around her like a fan, filling the small hut with her scent. Inuyasha sniffed at the air several times, familiarizing himself.

_'She smells interesting, like jasmine and honey. It's kinda nice.' _Inuyasha mentally slapped himself out of his daze. Did he seriously just think that she smelled…_nice_?!

A few moments later, Inuyasha picked up the sound of thundering hooves approaching. He shot up from the floor, growling low in his chest and flexing his claws. Seconds after the hooves stopped outside of the door, Kaede rushed in, not paying much attention to Inuyasha's defensive stance. The elderly priestess began rummaging around her hut, picking up seemingly random herbs and berries.

"Inuyasha, remove her clothes so that I may get a better look at the wound," ordered Kaede. Her back was to the stunned hanyou, so she missed the bright red of his cheeks.

_'She wants me to do WHAT?' _

Inuyasha glanced down at the Kaori, feeling his cheeks flare up again. Whimpering internally, he reached down and grabbed at the flimsy purple fabric before swiftly, but carefully removing Kaori's top garment. His embarrassment died down a little when he saw that she wasn't bare underneath like most women. Instead, she wore some strange thing covering her breasts. Whatever it was, Inuyasha was immensely thankful for it.

"Now what?"

Kaede turned around, holding a wet piece of cloth out to him. "Begin washing off the blood, but do not touch the bite yet," she began mashing up some of the herbs with a pestle.

Inuyasha did as instructed and started cleansing the skin as best as he could. The blood ran down almost the entire length of Kaori's torso in the front and it ran down over her shoulder blades. The punctures themselves started at her right collarbone down to just above her breast.

_'She wouldn't have lasted the night.' _He grimaced at the sight and smell of all the blood she had lost.

Just as he was finishing cleaning, Kaede knelt down on the floor by Kaori. "Put her head up in your lap. Make sure it is raised above the wound,"

In one fluid motion, Inuyasha was sitting at the top of the futon with Kaori's head placed securely in his lap. He pulled her hair up, getting it out of Kaede's way and out of the blood.

Kaede began applying the poultice directly to the deep teeth marks. Even passed out, Kaori flinched and whimpered pitifully.

Just before dawn, Kaori's injuries had just finished being wrapped in a soft, clean cloth. "She will need to change these every day until it stops bleeding, but I feel that she will make a full recovery," Kaede stated, rising shakily from the wooden floor.

"Except that she'll carry those scars forever." scoffed Inuyasha. He had already risen and was staring out the window with his arms folded tightly against his chest. "How the hell did she even get the Shikon Jewel in the first place?"

"That is something we will have to ask her once she awakens, Inuyasha," Kaede hobbled over to the water basin and began scrubbing off the dried blood. "Tell me, do ye still intend to use the Shikon no Tama to become a full demon? Are ye that disgusted by your half demon blood?"

Inuyasha growled loudly then punched a fairly large sized hole through the wall. He glared murderously at her over his shoulder. "How the hell do you know that? I'm getting sick of hearing some dried up witch I just met talk like she knows me."

"So ye do not remember me; I thought as much," Kaede dried off her hands, not bothering to look at Inuyasha. She slowly walked over to the stove and threw a few more pieces of wood in. "I am younger sister to Kikyo; she who bound ye to the tree."

"You're Kaede?"Inuyasha asked in astonishment. His mind flashed back to memories with Kikyo. Most were of them were of her either helping people, or with him, but in a few, he could remember a short little girl with black hair, trying to hold onto her taller sister's bow. "So you're the brat."

"Fifty years have passed, Inuyasha. And I have grown old."

"If you're this old, Kikyo must be pushing a hundred," Inuyasha smirked and sat down. "Sure glad I don't gotta worry about being old; least not for a while."

"Kikyo didn't worry either," Kaede twisted her head around, staring intently at the smirking hanyou. "Kikyo died."

_"Kikyo died. Kikyo died. Kikyo died" _These words echoed around in Inuyasha's mind. His smirk slid from his face.

"It was on the same day she shot ye with the arrow."

Inuyasha wiped the grief from his mind and face, substituting it with a look of indifference. "Gee, sorry to hear it. Not that I care or nothin'," He stretched out until he was laying flat across his back."Guess that's one less thing I have to worry about, huh?"

"Do not be so sure of that, Inuyasha. For I have come to realize that Kaori is the reincarnation of my sister Kikyo."

The hanyou's eyes flashed over to the sleeping girl. _'Reincarnation? So is she Kikyo or just someone who has her soul?' _

A flicker of movement off to his right caught the young hanyou's attention. Kaori shifted again in her sleep, moaning quietly. Inuyasha's sensitive dog ears twitched in her direction.

"Ow…" She groaned groggily. She tried sitting up, but was forced down when Kaede's gentle hand rested on her shoulder.

"Rest, child. Ye are not yet strong enough to move."

"So…it wasn't a dream?" Kaori noticed Inuyasha staring at her, but the second she looked at him, he quickly turned away.

"Not unless you count a centipede nearly biting your shoulder off, a dream," snorted Inuyasha.

"There's no need to be a jerk, dog-breath," Kaori grumbled. "It's not like fighting demons, and getting chased by someone who was previously dead is a regular occurrence for me. Where I come from, there _aren't _any demons." This time when she sat up, she didn't let Kaede's firm hand stop her.

"Tell me, where did you come from, Kaori-sama?"

Kaori sighed heavily. This was going to be a long story.

Inuyasha sat on top of Kaede's roof, staring out over the village. Kaori had been under the constant care of Kaede for four days and was able to walk around on her own without nearly passing out.

Kaede had been explaining the basics about the responsibilities and powers of a priestess when she had been called away to go treat some kid's broken leg.

_'Feh. How can anyone want to be mortal? They're too fragile.'_

Inuyasha hopped down from the roof and walked into the priestess' hut where Kaori was propped up against the wall, eating a nashi. Her shredded purple shirt had been roughly patched up by a few of the women, but the bloodstain wouldn't come out at all.

"How long are you gonna stay here before you go back to To…Toyoki?" He asked a bit snappishly.

"It's Tokyo and I'll leave when I can," Kaori said not acting the least bit annoyed. She'd actually gotten fairly used to his rudeness. "I miss my home and I don't want to stay any longer than necessary."

"What's so great about your time? Seems to me that that place would be kinda backwards," Inuyasha shrugged, losing some of his hostility. "I mean, why would you want to live in a place that makes women wear something weird under their shirts like that?"

Kaori's grip on the nashi slipped while her mouth dropped open. "W-what?"

"Y'know, that weird thing you wear over your chest underneath your shirt. What is that thing anyway? Ouch!" He rubbed the spot in his head where the fruit struck. "What'd ya do that for? I was only asking a question!"

_'When did he see my bra?! I think I would've remembered that!'_ Kaori's cheeks flushed an angry red as she glared at the hanyou still rubbing his head.

"It's a piece of clothing from my time that helps protect and cover a woman's breasts," She said through clenched teeth trying to keep her cool.

"How can something that flimsy protect anything? All I'd have to do it run my claw along it, and it'd shred to pieces."

Kaori balled her hands into fists at her sides. "Sit boy!"

Inuyasha yelped as his face came into contact with the wooden floorboards on Kaede's hut. "I'm _really_ starting to hate that word," he groaned. His ears picked up on the sound of Kaori's footsteps storming away from him.

_'What a pervert!'_ Kaori fumed as she marched through the village. She barely paid any attention to the gossiping of the townspeople as she passed. They murmured things of how she was the reincarnation of their deceased priestess or of how they knew it was her all along. As she passed, several of the villagers bowed respectfully to her, as if she had saved them from something evil.

'_Still…I guess I can't fault him that much. Women in these times didn't wear bras or anything like that.'_

"Kaori-sama!" A voice called, breaking her from her thoughts. She turned and saw a middle aged man jogging towards her, his arms laden down with a large basket of fruits, vegetables, and bread. "Kaori-sama, on behalf of the entire village, we would like to give these to you," he said, swooping into a low bow.

Kaori accepted the basket with a forced smile. The strain it put on her healing shoulder wasn't pleasant, but she ignored it.

'_I seriously haven't done anything to deserve these gifts! All I did was try not to die from a random demon attack.'_

"Thank you," Kaori and the villager bowed to each other before he ran off, probably to tell the others that she had accepted it.

'_Well, there's no way I can eat all of this by myself,' _She thought, looking down at the large basket. _'I guess I should try to apologize to Inuyasha for being so bitchy earlier.'_

While Kaori decided to make amends with Inuyasha, that same hanyou was currently sitting up in an Angelica Tree, staring out over the landscape.

"Kikyo is dead. She died and I never even knew."He propped his arm up on his knee while his other leg hung limply over the side of the branch. _'Did she die because of me? Of course she did! Why else would she have died on the exact day she killed me?'_

Inuyasha's golden eyes fixed on a few children playing in the shallows of the river. No one played with him as a child. Everyone avoided him like the plague; everyone except his mother.

'_Half-breed.' _Inuyasha scoffed, suppressing unwanted childhood memories.

His ears twitched, catching the slight sound of lightweight footsteps behind him. A quick sniff told him that the Jewel Protector was the one approaching. "What do you want? Coming to slam my face into the ground again?" Inuyasha grumbled snidely.

"Actually, I was coming to see if you wanted some food," his hand caught the peach flying above his head before his brain could fully register what had happened. The perturbed hanyou turned around halfway to glance down at the strange girl.

'_One minute she's shouting at me and the next she's offering me food. What the hell is up with this girl?!'_

"Keh, no thanks. I don't really enjoy spending time with temperamental bitches," The hanyou turned his back around, ignoring the girl below him. His rebellion was short lived when a split second later, he was getting a sore nose and a mouthful of dirt.

"Would you quit saying that?!" Inuyasha growled, jumping up from the ground.

"Saying what?" Kaori asked coolly. "Sit boy?" Inwardly, she smirked at seeing him do yet another face plant. "I'll stop for now if you will stop insulting me. If not, then we'll just have a dog-eared crater right about where you're standing."

Reluctantly, Inuyasha sat down underneath the tree beside Kaori. "Where'd you get all that stuff, anyway?"

"The villagers gave it to me for some reason," Kaori shrugged, pulling out a long loaf of bread and handed it to the surly hanyou. "Back home, we don't have food this fresh. It's all been cooked already or it's food that just tastes like something different."

Inuyasha stayed silent, just scrutinizing Kaori's movements with his intense golden gaze.

"Papa absolutely loves that stuff; the fake tasting foods." The smaller girl picked up a mikan and began peeling it. The boy crouched beside her, continued to stare, as if he were trying to decipher her thoughts just by staring hard enough.

"Whatever you're up to, I ain't buyin it."

"Buying what, pup?" Kaori asked, lazily popping a piece of mikan in her mouth. "Listen up; it's fair to say that you don't like me, right?"

"Waaaaaay more than fair. That's giving you too much credit," scoffed Inuyasha, who was squinting at the irritated miko beside him.

"Control that mouth and I won't have to injure that pretty little face of yours," Kaori snipped, closing her eyes."You aren't even mad at me, though. You're mad at Kikyo because she pinned you to that tree for fifty years."

Inuyasha made a low grumbling sound then silently soared up from his spot on the ground, back to his perch on the branches above. He sprawled out, propping his head p on his hand, deliberately turning his back.

"Guess what? I'm not Kikyo! I'm Kaori and whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me. Why can't we just have a truce so we don't end up killing each other?"

"HAH!" Inuyasha laughed, springing up, jabbing a pointed claw at Kaori. "I knew it! What you don't get is that I'm only after the jewel! You're just trying to lure me into a false sense of security!"

'_Sheesh, paranoid much?'_

"False sense of security? Like I'd need to do that. All I have to do to get you to obey is say one word…" Kaori glared up at him; taking in a bit of pride when she saw his face pale. "Sit!"

Inuyasha smashed into the dirt for the third time that day with his nose and chin protesting under their assault on the earth floor. "Stop that!"

Fire crackled invitingly behind Kaori as she climbed into the second futon at Kaede's hut. Over the last several days, she had done nothing but get an earful each morning from Kaede, then put up with Inuyasha's temper until she went to bed.

"Tomorrow, I'm going home. Papa, Maeko, and Raiden must be worried out of their minds. Knowing Papa, he'll have the entire police force out searching for me," a few tears sprung to her eyes.

'_What if I never get back? What then? Do I just put up with Inuyasha forever and hope I don't get eaten by a demon one day?'_

Shivers rolled down her spine as thunder rolled overhead. Kaori pulled the covers up to her chin, and then closed her eyes, preparing for a restless night.

Inuyasha sat sentinel on top of Kaede's hut, his usual spot. The wind was blustering, whipping branches together and rustling every leaf close by. He was just about to nod off when an unpleasant odor reached his sensitive nose.

Death and crows.

Jumping up, the wide awake hanyou flexed his claws, setting his sights on the horde of demon birds roosting in a nearby tree.

'_Just what I needed to deal with,' _Inuyasha sardonically thought. Silently, he leapt up, landing squarely in the middle of their flock, and began slashing at them. He managed to slice a few in half, but most took off before he could react.

"They've all come just 'cause they can smell the jewel. Stinking vultures," Just as the birds flew from sight, rain began to pour from the rolling thunderclouds. Inuyasha leaned back under the canopy of leaves, not really bothered by his soaked haori. Closing his eyes, he let his ears twitch to every little sound. For the second time that night, just as he was about to doze off, he was abruptly awakened again. But this time it was for an odd, high pitched sound, but it wasn't very loud.

Inuyasha growled quietly for his interrupted sleep and slid out of the tree, following his ears. They led him to the edge of Kaede's hut where he paused to listen.

A soft whimpering sound was coming from inside.

Pushing the curtain aside, Inuyasha strode in silently. On the futon closest to him was the soundly sleeping priestess, but the one at the farthest end of the room, held the whimpering girl.

The tired hanyou cautiously crept to the other side of the room and knelt down by Kaori's head. Thanks to his enhanced hearing, he picked up on a few words that were whispered from Kaori's lips.

"I'm ok…don't leave…my fault…"

Inuyasha could hear her elevated heartbeat and smell the tears rolling down her flushed cheeks.

Completely unsure of what to do, Inuyasha poked Kaori's uninjured shoulder a few times. "Yo, wake up. C'mon." After a few more nudges, Kaori's brilliant blue eyes fluttered open. Tears clung to her eyelashes, urging the hanyou to brush them away.

'_What the hell?! She means nothing to me!' _Inuyasha shouted internally.

"Inu…Inuyasha?" Kaori whispered groggily. She wiped at the tears quickly, hoping the boy in front of her hadn't noticed them yet.

"You were…uh," Inuyasha cleared his throat uncomfortably. "You were making a lot of annoying sounds in your sleep and you were keeping me up," _'Liar'_

Kaori's cheeks turned bright red. "I'm sorry I woke you up," She whispered, looking down.

"Feh, I don't need that much sleep, but the sounds were beginning to annoy me. Go back to sleep and try to stay quiet this time," the half youkai said, rising from his crouch. He walked over to the edge of the doorway and sank back down, leaning against the wall with his arms and legs crossed and his head bent forward.

'_Now that I'm awake, I won't be able to go back to sleep,'_ Kaori thought, listening to the thunderstorm outside. A flash of lightning arced across the night sky, illuminating the world briefly before plunging it back into darkness. _'I wish I could forget everything and say it was just a dream, but it wasn't.' _Fresh tears rolled down Kaori's cheeks; she didn't bother to wipe them.

"I'm sorry, Mama," she whispered into the night, oblivious to the fact that a certain hanyou was listening.

**Japanese Vocabulary!**

**Nashi: a Japanese pear**

**Mikan: a mandarin orange**

**Miko: a priestess**


	4. Dreams and WHAT THE HELL?

Kaori awakened to the sound of a rooster crowing in the distance. Sunlight barely peeked in through the window, casting long, shadows over the room. Inuyasha was still slumped against the wall, but Kaede's futon was vacant.

'_I was hoping to tell her bye before I left, but I'm not gonna go out and search. She'd probably try to stop me from going anyway,' _Kaori thought as she stretched her stiff muscles; her shoulder didn't hurt too much, thankfully.

Just before she headed out the door, she glanced over at Inuyasha. His features were so relaxed and peaceful, like they were when she found him stuck to the tree. If you saw him this way, you wouldn't be able to guess how temperamental and stubborn he really was. Deciding to leave on a good note, Kaori picked up her blankets and draped them over his slumbering form. Giving his dog ears a gentle rub, she left the elderly healer's hut.

Luckily, there weren't too many people out and about this early, so Kaori was able to walk through the village without attracting too much unwanted attention. Birds chirped happily overhead and puffy white clouds rolled lazily across the sky. Kaori's focus wasn't on her surroundings; it was on the tree line directly in front of her.

'_Inuyasha's Forest; I guess it can't be called that anymore.' _Kaori glanced behind her at the stirring village. For some unexplainable reason, she felt kind of bad leaving. _'But I've got to get home. I don't belong here.'_

As Kaori started her trek into the woods, Inuyasha was having an odd dream about being in a snow covered meadow, surrounded by jasmine flowers. The air around him was freezing with the softly falling snow, but there was a soft, warm feeling covering him. Not even his bare feet were chilled as he walked through the knee-deep snow. His ears twitched at the sound of a woman's distant laughter. Curious, he sprinted off in the general direction of the sound, hoping to find who was out there.

"_Inuyasha…"_ the voice whispered with a giggle, urging the hanyou to run faster. _"I'm right here."_

"Where are you?" His rational brain didn't stop to process that he didn't even know who was calling for him. All that mattered to him was that he reached her.

Suddenly, a figure was becoming clearer that closer he got. Her back was turned to him and all he could see was a long mane of jet-black hair. Inuyasha raised his outstretched hand when the woman turned around.

She was adorned in the standard, modest priestess robes with a bow grasped loosely in her hand. Her hair was pulled back on the sides, creating a beautiful silky curtain framing her delicate face. But what stunned the hanyou the most was the familiar pair of deep chocolate brown eyes staring back at him.

"Kikyo," Inuyasha took a shaky step forward; his eyes were wide in surprise and confusion.

"Inuyasha," the miko sighed happily, running to meet him. She launched herself into his warm embrace, nuzzling her face into his chest. "I've missed you."

Inuyasha wrapped his arms around the petite girl's waist, hugging her to him. His eyes closed of their own accord when he inhaled her natural scent. "I've missed you, too," He whispered into her hair, smoothing it down with his free hand.

"You left me completely alone," Kikyo said quietly.

"I know, and I'm sorry," His voice was gruff with emotion. "I'll never leave your side again; I promise." He breathed in another heavenly whiff of Kikyo's scent, but something wasn't right about it. Inuyasha's golden eyes snapped open and he looked down at the woman caught in his hold.

Her hair was shorter and thicker, but it still had the same color and shine that Kikyo's did. She was still wearing the priestess robes, but they looked a bit big on her tiny frame. The thing that still bothered him was her smell: jasmine and honey.

"Kikyo?" the hanyou asked, pulling back slightly. But the eyes that stared up at him weren't the color brown he loved and associated with Kikyo. In their place, was an astonishing, sparkling, sapphire blue.

* * *

"AAGH!" Inuyasha shot up from a dead sleep, jumping to his feet, only to crash into the floor thanks to the blankets wrapped around his ankles.

_'WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!' _Inuyasha's heart pounded almost painfully against his ribs, and his mind raced in circles, trying to make sense of the dream. _'Damn wench! She's following me even in my sleep!'_

He turned around in the hut, noticing for the first time that he was completely alone. The hanyou attempted to take a step towards the exit when he felt a soft fabric rub against his bare feet. Crouching down, Inuyasha picked the material up and gave it a hesitant sniff. The strong aroma of honey and jasmine flooded his nose.

_'What the hell?' _Inuyasha threw the blanket as far away from him as he could, avoiding it like the plague. _'Why would she cover me?'_

_"Kaori?" _Kaede called. Sensitive youkai ears picked up on the old woman's voice as she called out again for the young girl.

_'That stupid wench better not have disappeared with my Sacred Jewel,'' _Inuyasha growled internally, shooting out of the hut at breakneck speeds. He soared over the rooftops, gliding easily twenty feet into the air with each bound. His ears twitched in the direction of Kaede's distressed calls; he bolted off in her direction.

"We've searched everywhere for her, but she's not here, Lady Kaede," announced one of the villagers as he approached the woman.

"Could it be she's gone off on her own?" pondered the priestess. "We spoke of those who seek the Sacred Jewel, but had we not spoken enough?"

'"Stupid wench better not have lost the Sacred Jewel," Inuyasha grumbled. He took in a few deep whiffs of air before point his sights at the edge of the woods. "Not again. You better be alive."

Kaori hiked through the dense mass of trees surrounding her, climbing over logs and ducking under low hanging branches as she went. She had no idea which was she was going except that she kept getting fleeting glances of the Sacred Tree through the gaps in the leaves.

_'I have to be heading in at least the general direction, right?'_

After several more minutes of stomping through the underbrush, there was a pause in the tree line. A small clearing was up ahead and at its center: the Dry Well.

Kaori reached into her pocket and pulled out the Shikon no Tama. Stupid little thing had caused her enough trouble already.

Unbeknownst to the girl out of time, a large Karasu-Youkai easily the size of a small turkey- was watching her with three greedy blood-red eyes. Once Kaori revealed that she still possessed the Shikon Jewel, the youkai saw its chance, and took it. With a near ear-splitting _caw_ the demon crow lunged for its long desired prize.

Kaori whirled around it time to see eight razor sharp talons aimed directly at her. Instinctually, she dropped down, narrowly avoiding death. She felt a few of the claws brush the top of her head, momentarily getting caught in her hair. She didn't bother looking to see where the demon was before she began running blindly in a random direction.

The crow's screeching cries of fury reverberated around in her head, disorienting Kaori. Her pace slowed marginally as she attempted to block out the horrible sound by covering her ears. But that was the only opening the youkai needed. Swooping down on top of the girl, he clamped down onto the arm holding the Sacred Jewel.

"Let go of me!" Her livid shouts echoed through the forest, reaching the searching inuhanyou's ears.

"Fucking bitch!" Inuyasha growled, speeding up his pace. "Why the hell did she have to get herself into trouble again? Does she have a fucking death wish?" Following the acute fragrance of honey and jasmine, Inuyasha burst through the trees, not believing his eyes at the scene playing out in front of him.

Kaori was being lifted several dozens of feet above the ground by a furious, determined crow youkai that had a death grip on her forearm. Unfortunately, she was higher than the hanyou could jump without going to the unstable tops of the trees.

"DAMNIT!" Inuyasha roared, trying to think of a way to get her down and get back the jewel. But he was about to figure out that he didn't have much to do at all.

Kaori heard Inuyasha's livid voice from below and chanced a glance at the ground. Her vision swam once she saw how high she was, but that was the least of her problems at the second. The crow, sensing its prey was distracted, took that moment to fling the girl from his grip, letting her plummet towards the earth.

Kaori's hands opened in an instinctual effort to grab onto something to stop her rapid descent, but in doing so, she released her grip on the Shikon no Tama.

'_Not her'_

Inuyasha sprinted forward, leaping up to catch the falling girl before his brain had time to catch up with his actions. Kaori's heartbeat was racing and she was physically shaking. Up above them, the Shikon Jewel was disappearing down the youkai's gullet.

Realizing that he was still holding Kaori, he unceremoniously dumped her in the dirt, earning himself a vicious glare. Both the hanyou and the reincarnated miko momentarily forgot their fury towards another as they stared up as the crow transformed into something out of a nightmare. It grew a dragon's tale, a body the size of an eagle, and it's eyes glowed with the power pulsating through its demonic body. Instead of it letting out its usual shrill, ear-splitting echo, the Karasu-Youkai released a resonating sound that resembled a cross between nails clawing down a chalkboard and a woman's terrified shriek.

Inuyasha's ears pressed flat against his head while Kaori did her best to plug her own. Being a human, she couldn't imagine how someone with enhanced hearing, like the hanyou beside her, could stand it. It took the pair several moments after the screeching subsided that they noticed the bird was nowhere in sight.

"You idiotic wench! Why the hell would you take the Sacred Jewel and practically wave it around in everyone's faces!" Inuyasha bellowed, rounding on the miko.

Kaori shot up from the ground and got right in Inuyasha's face. "Well excuse me if I wanted to go _home_ and not be stuck in this stupid era! If I went home, I wouldn't have to hear you bitching at me all day about the fucking jewel or what I'm doing wrong!"

"Are you really that stupid or do you just want to die? Cause from where I'm standing, it's kinda hard to tell! Who the hell in their right mind decides to go take a walk with the most powerful item on the earth flashing for everything to see?"

"It's not like I was waving it around going 'Look at me; I have the Shikon Jewel! Please come abduct, rape, or kill me to get it!'" Kaori snapped sarcastically. "Do you really think that I thought walking a few hundred feet would kill me?"

Inuyasha barked out a humorless laugh. "No, cause you didn't _think_! And as far as walking a little bit not killing you, it almost did. If I hadn't been here, you would've died and it would've been no one's fault but your own." Inuyasha grabbed Kaori's wrist and yanked her up onto his back. "We've got to catch up to that damned crow before it gets too far out."

At first they were running, then…they were flying.

Inuyasha's leaps easily took them twenty feet into the air with each one. His feet barely touched the dirt beneath for more than a second before he was already soaring through the air again. Kaori had a death grip on his bright red haori while her eyes were clamped shut at the ground flying away and towards her with each step of the powerful inuhanyou beneath her.

"How exactly do you expect to fight the stupid demon if we can't reach it?" She shouted over the rush of the wind.

"Kikyo was a master archer; we'll get a bow and arrows and you'll shoot the fucking thing from the sky in one shot."

'_Are you fucking insane?!' _Kaori's thoughts were almost frozen after that. She wasn't Kikyo! How many times did she have to tell him that before it broke through his thick, dumbass skull?

They were already hurdling across the roofs of the village; the crow was a low flying dot several yards in front of them. Inuyasha snatched up a bow and quiver of arrows from an unsuspecting middle-aged man. The hanyou tossed them over his shoulder at the wench clinging to his back.

"Here, I'm gonna jump and you take the shot," he commanded, hastening his steps. The youkai was visibly insight not too far ahead. Smirking, Inuyasha glanced back at the miko unsteadily holding the bow with the arrow notched into place. "Get ready." The muscles in his powerful legs tensed, coiling for the right moment…

The bird was directly overhead.

Now!

"Take the shot!"

'_I hope this hits!' _Kaori pulled back the string and let it fly. The arrow shot towards the demon, but fell lazily from the sky when it was only a few feet away from its target, landing in the river beside them. _'Damn!'_

'_What the hell? I thought the old bat said she was Kikyo's reincarnation!' _Inuyasha fumed, glaring at the girl.

Kaori notched another arrow and shot again; again the arrow fell short.

Inuyasha's enraged roar split the fairly silent atmosphere. Letting go of Kaori's waist he dropped her onto the wet ground in a heap. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? I don't care what anyone says; you are NOT Kikyo!"

"It's about fucking time that got through to you! MY. NAME. IS. KAORI!"

Snarling, Inuyasha took off, leaving the livid human behind. Or so he thought. Kaori bolted up and took off along the river-albeit at a slower pace-behind the pissed inuhanyou.

'_I can take down this bastard better and faster than that wench ever could!' _He thought, taking to the cliffs alongside the river. Soon, the hanyou was above where the crow demon was flying above the river

'_Keh, watch this wench!'_

"IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!" Inuyasha thundered, bringing down his razor-sharp claws through the startled demon. It didn't even have time to turn around before being slashed into dozens of pieces.

"Where's the Jewel?" He asked frantically when his feet landed on the sandy riverside. His ochre eyes hungrily searching the surface of the water, as if the Shikon no Tama would shoot out of it and into his hand.

Kaori had managed to catch up to Inuyasha at the same time he sliced the demon to shreds, unfortunately for her, she was also caught in the carnage. Bits of the bird rained down in the river and around her, each of them still twitching.

'_EW…not again.'_

Her attention on the scattered remains around her was short lived when she felt something large, pointy, and twitchy on her head. With shaky fingers, she reached up and pulled off one of the crow's feet. She promptly screamed and flung the thing as far away from her once her brain processed what had just happened.

A mass of black began floating up from the river, quickly becoming larger and larger as the seconds flew by. Soon, she could see a beak and a blob of a body, and wings. But only one foot…

Glancing around, Kaori noticed the crow's foot wedged in between two fairly large rocks, twitching and flailing wildly as its body flew away without it.

Inuyasha growled quietly, seeing the youkai reform thanks to the power he so desperately coveted. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a lot of movement. Kaori was struggling to tie something to one of her arrows.

"Fat chance she'll hit anything but the ground with that."

Notching the arrow into place, Kaori aimed it high in the direction of the receding youkai. Taking a deep breath, she let the arrow fly.

"I get it," murmured Inuyasha.

'_The foot can't help but be drawn to the power of the jewel that binds it.'_

The arrows soared up, up, up at the crow in an almost vertical slope.

"C'MON!" Kaori growled.

The arrow struck; a cocky smirk appearing on both Inuyasha and Kaori's faces as the bird disintegrated into nothing. But something went horribly wrong.

A blinding pink light flooded the sky, outshining the sun for several seconds. Hundreds of pink rays of lights scattered themselves across the sky in every direction as the Shikon no Tama was shattered completely.

Inuyasha jumped over to Kaori and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Where is it?!"

"Uh…"

One of the shards landed in the riverbank, just a couple of feet away from the two. She plucked it out of the water, holding it up for Inuyasha to see.

"I think it's a shard from the jewel…"

Inuyasha's eye twitched several times, staring unbelievingly at the woman in front of him. "Wh- WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"


	5. Yura's Obsession with Silver Hair

A steady stream of bubbles escaped Kaori's nose as she swam around a secluded part of the river. Rocks surrounded most of it, save for a small waterfall and the riverbank. Her mind, however, was not focused on the scenery nor the cool water flowing around her naked body. Kaori's mind was replaying the conversation she had with Lady Kaede and Inuyasha couple of hours prior.

"_Leave it to you to destroy something as important as the Sacred Jewel, bitch," Inuyasha seethed, his hands tucked away into the sleeves of his haori._

"_Stop your barking, pup!" Kaori snapped, turning back to Kaede. "As you were saying, Kaede."_

"_Technically, Inuyasha, it was not Kaori's fault that the jewel was destroyed, but the crow's foot attached to the arrow. As the both of ye saw, the jewel has now been scattered into many different pieces. How many there are, we do not know, but I do know this," The elderly priestess stared between the two with her one good eye. "Kaori, Inuyasha, only by working together will the two of ye be able to recover the shards of the Sacred Jewel. If only one shard were to land in the wrong hands, it would mean a terrible disaster."_

_Inuyasha chuckled. "You won't catch me complainin'. I'm one of the wrong hands you were talking about, babaa,"_

"_Oh, ay. That I know too well, but with those Beads of Subjugation around your neck, Kaori still holds power over you; one that you cannot escape."_

'_How the hell am I supposed to do that? Ha! As if Inuyasha would do anything that wasn't for his own personal gain; he would rather chew his own arm of first.'_

Kaori resurfaced, taking in a deep breath. She swam along the surface until she was under the gentle waterfall. She had to stand until her abdomen was at water level to get the soft pounding of steady stream hitting her back, but a slight chill from the breeze was of little concern. A soft sigh of contentment escaped her lips. For the first time since she fell through that stupid well, she was actually happy…until she looked up.

Sitting on top of the short white cliffs running alongside the river was Inuyasha.

And he was staring right back at her.

"SIT BOY!" Kaori shrieked, instantly covering her exposed breasts. The hanyou yelped loudly as he got a mouthful of sand. "PERVERT! How dare you stare at me while I'm taking a bath! How would you like it if I just gawked at you completely naked, huh?" Kaori climbed out of the water behind the safety of the rocks, pulling on a smaller version of the priestess robes that Kaede wore.

"Quit your bitching! It's not like I was lookin' at you or nothing!" Inuyasha shouted, glaring in a different direction. _'Right and I'm a Cat-Youkai.'_

Kaede hid a smile by bowing her head slightly; obscuring her face from view, keeping the fire going that was drying Kaori's original clothing. It was only by pure luck that she had a set of priestess robes small enough for Kaori's thin frame.

"Feh, the only reason I'm still here is cause-"

"Ye seek to steal this shard of the Sacred Jewel," Kaede interrupted. She held up the little pink shard and glanced over her shoulder at Inuyasha who had his hands tucked away into the deep sleeves of his haori.

"Think you're pretty smart, huh?" He sneered, refusing to look at the older woman.

"It doesn't take a whole lot of brain power to figure out your motives, Inuyasha," Kaori retorted from behind the rocks, sliding her skirt on. "Anyone who listens to you for more than a few seconds can tell exactly what you're thinking."

_'Wench.'_

"Like it's safe to say that you're probably calling me either bitch or wench in your head right now," Kaori glanced over at the stunned hanyou. "From your look, it seems that I was spot on."

"Inuyasha, Kaori, ye two must stop fighting. Ye can sense the shards while Inuyasha has the power and strength to take them back. If ye do not work together, the shards of the Sacred Jewel may be lost forever," Kaede said grimly, still stoking the fire.

"Feh, I don't need that wench. I can take on anything to get the Jewel back. No way this stupid mortal girl could do anything but slow me down."

"Look, buddy, I don't know what your problem is with me, but you need to grow up a little," Kaori's voice sounded from directly behind Inuyasha. How had she managed to sneak up on him? He turned around to offer some snarky retort, but froze in his tracks.

Kaori was adorned in exactly the same clothing he always saw Kikyo wearing. It didn't help that the girl before him greatly resembled the woman he once loved. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a white cloth tie, letting a few black tendrils sweep lazily across her cheekbones and forehead. The only difference between Kikyo and Kaori, were their eyes. Warm brown eyes from his memory clashed furiously with the crystal blue in front of him.

"Kikyo," he whispered almost soundlessly.

Getting no response from Inuyasha other than a dazed look in his eye, Kaori rolled her eyes and turned to Kaede. "Thank you for giving me these clothes to borrow, Kaede."

"No thanks is necessary, child," Kaede replied, rearranging the drying clothes. "I just wish I could've given them to ye earlier when ye had to wear the destroyed ones here." She motioned to the shredded purple shirt and cargo pants hovering over the fire.

Inuyasha blocked out everything the girls were saying because he was still too busy wrapped up in his thoughts.

_'I can't stand seeing her in those clothes!' _He growled internally. _'She looks way too much like Kikyo with those on. She doesn't deserve to wear the robes of a priestess. What kind of priestess can't shoot a bow and arrow? _

Inuyasha scowled at the back of Kaori's head where the strip of cloth pulled back her hair.

_**'Admit it. You just don't like those robes cause you know what she's hiding underneath,' **_**a** voice in his head taunted.

_'No fucking way do I want to see _that_ ever again,' _Inuyasha argued.

_**'Liar!'**_

_'Shut it,'_ Inuyasha ordered.

_**'But it's true,' **_the voice teased. _'__**You want nothing more than to see her like that again. Face it; you can't get the image of her bare, round, white-'**_

_'SHADDUP DAMMIT!'_ Inuyasha shook his head, attempting to dispel the voice and memory from his mind. He snarled quietly at his raging thoughts, but the sound caught Kaede's attention.

"And what ails ye now, Inuyasha?"

"Who said anything was bothering me, ya old hag?" Before Kaori had a chance to 'sit' him for being rude again, a lady walked into view, carrying an infant on her back, calling for Lady Kaede. Kaede listened patiently to the frantic woman explain that something horrible had happened to her daughter.

"I see, let's head back," Kaede took a few steps before glancing over her shoulder at Inuyasha and Kaori. "I'll be back to check on ye later. Try not to kill each other while I'm gone." And with that, the elderly priestess turned and began heading back in the direction of the village with the young woman following closely behind.

An uncomfortable silence washed over Kaori and Inuyasha, only broken by the quiet sounds of nature.

"Hey," Inuyasha started, looking up at Kaori.

"What do you want, baka?" Kaori sighed exasperatedly. She spared a glance down at the hanyou sitting on the rocky riverbank.

"Get undressed." A brief, stunned look covered her face before being replaced with utter revulsion. Inuyasha felt an immediate sharp stinging sensation spread across his cheek.

"SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT!" Her shrieks were so shrill, that if you couldn't hear the words she was saying, you might think that a young woman was in danger of being attacked.

"Ow… that hurt. What'd ya do that for?" Inuyasha groaned weakly from his crater in the ground. River water began lapping over him, filling his hole.

"Pervert!" a fuming Kaori shouted. "You're such an asshole, Inuyasha!"

"I didn't mean get naked, bitch!" Inuyasha snapped, climbing to his feet. "I just can't stand seeing you in those clothes!"

"So what? You'd rather me go back to walking in my nasty, bloody, torn clothes instead of wearing something that makes me look like your long lost lover?" Kaori didn't bother waiting for him to answer. "Ain't happenin' dog-boy!"

"You looking like Kikyo's got nothing to do with it," Inuyasha grumbled, refusing to meet the scowling miko's eye.

"Bullshit. Look, I would rather do pretty much anything than go on some stupid quest with you for who knows how many months. But Kaede said we need to work together, so I suggest you quit acting like an ass and try to cooperate."

"I ain't gotta do nothing. It's you that needs me," Inuyasha scoffed, sticking his nose in the air.

"Seriously? You don't need me at all?" Inuyasha turned his back on the snapping girl behind him. "Well, good luck finding those shards by yourself. I'm going home." His ears twitched a couple of times at the last sentence. Kaori walked over to the fire pit and picked up her clothes.

"Hey, where're ya goin'?" Inuyasha asked, his earlier temper suddenly vanished.

"Where'd I say I was going? Home," Kaori turned her back on the boy behind her, not sparing him a passing look. "Good-bye and good luck explaining to Kaede why I'm not coming back."

"Y-you can't just leave!"

"Watch me. And my name isn't 'you', stupid."

"Come back here, wench!" Inuyasha called after the very pissed young woman.

"It's not wench either. My name is Kaori. Get that through your thick skull, dumbass," Kaori would've kept walking if a clawed hand clamped down on her shoulder hadn't forced her to stop.

"Will ya just wait and hear me out?" Inuyasha growled. "If you're gonna go, at least give me your jewel shard." He held out his hand expectantly. Kaori sent Inuyasha a withering glare

"I've got two words for you, Inuyasha," Kaori closed her eyes, pinching the small pouch containing the jewel between her fingers. "Sit boy!"

"Damn you…" he groaned weakly, propping himself up on his elbows as Kaori stormed away, twirling the pouch on her finger.

_'What a jerk!' _Kaori caught the sounds of footsteps creeping up behind her, attempting to be silent. "Sit boy!" The footsteps ceased.

Inuyasha sat cross-legged with his arms shoved deeply into his sleeves, staring blankly ahead at the scenery.

_'Feh, stupid wench. I don't need her. She's the one that got us all into this mess to start with; it should be her begging me for help,' _Inuyasha fumed. _'Still, for a mortal girl, she's got an attitude; gotta respect that. She stands up to a hanyou like me and doesn't put up with other people's shit.'_

Once Inuyasha was convinced that Kaori was gone, he rose from the damp river rocks and shot off, bounding into the forest at insane speeds and soaring high over the tree tops with each surge of his powerful legs. He could see the village in the distance each time his vision was no longer obscured by the trees.

_'Where is everyone?' _ Inuyasha wondered, looking around the deserted village. Didn't Kaede say she was going to be tending to some girl here? His ochre eyes caught a glimpse of movement off to his right. Whirling around, he saw several of the young village women. But they were unconscious…and floating.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't ask what you're up to," Inuyasha stated sarcastically. "So far it's a wonderful day to see all this freaky crap. What next?" One of the unconscious women had begun hovering closer and closer to Inuyasha, but he didn't seem that interested in her, that is, until she lobbed a meat cleaver at his head.

Inuyasha dodged the attack easily, smirking up at the hovering girls. Each one was hefting a weapon over their heads. Knives, gardening tools, one was even wielding a heavy pan. _'Seriously? Who chooses that as their weapon?'_

"Keh, alright! Now this is what I'm talking about!" He cracked his knuckles, still inwardly laughing at the frying pan.

While Inuyasha was busying himself with the women of the village, Kaori was at the Bone Eater's Well and was staring intently down into the bottom of it; laying in a crumbling heap on the dirty floor, was a really long, really familiar skeleton.

"Those are the remains of Mistress Centipede. I don't know if someone was cleaning up and just thought that dumping the skeleton here was a good idea or if it magically appeared there after the thing was completely dead, but either way, this thing is damned creepy," Kaori muttered to herself, finally tearing her eyes away from the bones. "There's no chance that I'd jump into this thing. It could be a one way thing and I'd end up skewering myself on a bunch of old demon bones or, at the very least, break my legs on impact."

She slumped down on the ground, leaning against the side of the well. Now what was she supposed to do? Go back to Inuyasha and hear a never ending torrent of insults and taunts about how she came crawling back or how she was a pathetic human that desperately needed the hanyou's help?

_'Fat chance! I'm not giving more fuel to his already dangerously inflated ego.' _Kaori's eyes followed a few stray leaves that had broken off from the trees as they fluttered closer to the ground. But something was completely off about the way they fell. As each leaf neared the ground, they suddenly split cleanly down the middle.

Almost invisible black strands were intricately woven overhead, passing through the branches of trees and over the entire expanse of the meadow. Dozens of them surrounded her on all sides, leaving her only one possible escape: the well.

"Hel-lo, my, what pretty hair you have… Surely a young girl like you isn't out here all alone."

Kaori shot up from the ground at the sound of the voice, but inadvertently ended up slicing a thin cut along her cheek when she brushed up against one of the hairs.

'_Razor blade hair. Perfect.'_

The demoness above was perched daintily on top of some of the interwoven hairs. She wore an embarrassingly short leather dress that covered less than it revealed, with a long sword attached to her hip. With her sleek, short black hair, blood red lips caught in a confident smirk, and menacing magenta eyes, it was easy to tell that she was stunningly beautiful, but also emitted a dangerous aura.

"Who are you?" Kaori hoped her voice sounded stronger than she thought it did.

"I am Yura of the Hair, sweetie," she giggled, a shrill sound that would grate on anyone's nerves. "But I'm afraid I don't have time to fool around. You see, I can sense that you carry the Shikon Jewel. Hand it over and I will kill you quickly or refuse and it will be drawn out until you beg for death."

"Wow…you really think too highly of yourself," Kaori grumbled.

Yura flicked a few of her fingers and several strands of hair shot out towards Kaori, snapping the pouch from around her neck and pulling it back into her possession. "What have you done to the Shikon Jewel?" Yura held out the miniscule shard between her thumb and forefinger. "Where's the rest?"

"All over Japan by now, blondie. Did you not notice the large pink fireworks or are you just that stupid?"

Inuyasha somersaulted backwards to avoid being slashed by a scythe for the twentieth time in two minutes.

"Ok, I don't know what the hell is goin' on, but I ain't playing around no more!" Inuyasha growled, extending his claws.

"Inuyasha, wait!" a weak voice cried out. Kaede was crawling towards him with a badly wounded shoulder, leaving a long trail of blood behind her. Inuyasha jumped over the girls surrounding him and scooped up the elderly woman in his arms. "Ye must not harm them. Tis a demon at fault, not them."

"Well, at the moment, it's either them or us," Inuyasha growled, keeping an eye on the girls hovering closer in their direction. "I choose us!" He took off, jumping over the rooftops and ducking to avoid the weapons being thrown at his head. Hanyou or not, a blade to the head would still kill him.

Kaede noticed that one person was lacking. "Where is Kaori? Please tell me, ye know where she is; that she is safe!"

Inuyasha felt a slight tug at his stomach. "I don't know, Kaede-babaa. She just said that she was goin' home. But she ain't my concern right now. I've gotta get you somewhere safe."

"Nay, ye must keep Kaori safe! She carries the jewel and is being hunted by this demon. You must find her because only she and I can see the hair!"

"What hair?!" Inuyasha demanded. He began feeling several things tug at the sleeves of his haori, then fall away almost instantly. Sharp, tiny stings flared up all over his cheeks and feet where his skin was exposed to the razor wire invisible from his sight.

'_Why can't I see them?'_

"Hang on." Inuyasha warned. Several strands pulled at his hair, yanking a few locks of his silver mane out, but Inuyasha ignored them, leaping into the cover of the trees.

Yura tsked disdainfully at Kaori's comment. "You really shouldn't have said that. Now I'm upset." She flexed her fingers and several strands of pitch black hair shot out and began whipping at the exposed skin of Kaori's face, neck, and hands. Sharp snapping sounds echoed off the treetops as each blow struck. Some of the tresses wrapped around her wrists and ankles, locking her limbs in place. Kaori bit her tongue to keep from crying out; she wasn't going to give Yura the satisfaction of hearing her scream.

"You naughty girl, how dare you keep silent against my attacks?" Yura frowned. "I'll just-" she froze, feeling several threads of her web go slack. Ignoring the mortal tied up in her web, Yura wound up the broken hair, examining each strand. Something stood out against the sea of black: a small cluster of long, silky, silver fibers.

"What's this?" The demoness speculated, pulling them free. "My, what gorgeous silver hair. I must add it to my collection!"

'_Silver hair?' _Kaori audibly growled, sending Yura a look of complete hatred. "Don't you dare touch him!"

Yura spun around lightly, still balancing on her web like an acrobat. "Him? You know who has this beautiful head of hair? Tell me who he is!"

"Like hell! The only person that gets to mess with him is me and I ain't sharing." Several whips shot out and snapped at her skin, tearing through the borrowed miko robes and into her already raw flesh. Holding in her cry of pain was no longer an option; with each blow that struck, Kaori screamed with it, feeling the blood flow across her skin.

"I will make you shout his name, begging for him to rescue you!" Yura shrieked gleefully, sending more whips to slash at the girl.

Kaori thrashed against the bonds tying her in place; tears pouring freely from her eyes. A growing puddle of blood began pooling underneath her feet, but she could do nothing to escape her attacker. "INUYASHA!"

Two tiny youkai ears twitched, swiveling around when the sound of an agonized cry hit their sensitive eardrums. Inuyasha planted his feet in the dirt, standing completely motionless, his ears straining to hear more.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Kaede asked as the hanyou slid her from his back and placed her at the base of an oak tree.

"Kaori," he snarled. "She's in trouble." He shredded several bushes, throwing the piles of twigs and leaves near the woman. "Cover yourself up with these; it'll help hide the scent of your blood."

"Ye must protect her, Inuyasha. Ye need her as much as she needs ye."

"If I don't come back with her, I ain't comin' back." Inuyasha threw over his shoulder as he sprinted through the forest. Trees blurred together into a solid wall of green, only becoming visible when he had to jump to the side to avoid them. The foul odor of blood and tears hit him like a blow to the stomach.

With a roar, Inuyasha burst into the clearing, his youkai senses going into overdrive. A foul mixture of blood, jasmine, and death assaulted his nose, making the hanyou want to retch**.** His amber eyes locked on to the two hovering figures. One was a demon cackling like a madwoman and the other was…

"Kaori!" The human girl had gone limp in whatever unseen bonds held her, but she was still clearly conscious. Inuyasha could smell the fresh tears still falling from her eyes and hear the whimpers escaping her lips. Her robes were shredded in several places where he could see dozens of angry red marks, most of which were bleeding. His amber eyes locked on a single drop of blood as it fell, causing a ripple in the pool of crimson soaking into the ground.

"Who the hell are you?!" Inuyasha demanded, coming to a stop in front of Kaori, shielding her with his body. He crouched low in a defensive stance.

"You must be the lovely Inuyasha I've heard about," Yura cooed. "Your woman here was telling me all about you, isn't that right?" She flexed her fingers and tightened the hair around Kaori's ankles and wrists. More blood flowed from the deep lacerations.

"Oi, bitch, leave the wench out of it! You answer to me now!" Inuyasha slashed an Iron Reaver attack at Yura's head which she deflected easily by dodging and manipulating a part of her web to take the attack. Several locks of hair fell to the ground in a heap.

"Now why did you do that? That's going to take me ages to repair," Yura pouted. "You'll pay for that!" She twisted her hands in several directions and sent a solid spear of hair aimed directly at his head.

"Sit boy," Kaori said weakly. Inuyasha was brought to the ground, narrowly avoiding the intended death strike. As it was, it still cut into his bicep, coating the invisible strands with his blood.

'_So there you are!' _Reaching up to his bleeding arm, Inuyasha coated his claws in the sticky substance. "BLADES OF BLOOD!" He threw his hand out and a dozen demonic, red crescents shot from his, now dark red, claws. Yura was thrown back from the force of the attack, giving Inuyasha a split second to slice through the bonds on Kaori's wrists and ankles. Before Yura could recover fully from the attack, Inuyasha was already disappearing into the trees with the frail girl cradled protectively in his arms.

"You won't escape me forever, Inuyasha." A deceitfully sweet voice laughed, watching the retreating scarlet and silver form.

After several minutes of nonstop sprinting, Inuyasha slowed down and deftly leapt into a tree and climbed up several branches until he was seated at least thirty feet from the ground. He shifted around a few times, adjusting Kaori into his lap, enveloping her in his haori.

"Inu…yasha?" Kaori whispered quietly, blinking up at him. The hanyou in question didn't look down at her immediately. "Thank you for saving me."

Inuyasha stared down at the barely conscious girl in his arms. A storm of emotions swirled around in his intense gaze. He didn't even notice the almost inaudible whining sound he made at the back of his throat when he caught sight of the blood soaked robes.

"What the hell happened? You weren't even gone an hour," His voice was quiet, but you could clearly hear the rage and guilt in his voice.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, snuggling deeper into the soft folds of his robes. She could feel his heart beating underneath her palm. "She ambushed me… saw your hair in her web and wanted me to tell her who... you were. I didn't tell."

Inuyasha froze. Why didn't she give him up? She would've been safer and wouldn't have been so hurt. "Why?"

"Hmm?"

"Why wouldn't you tell her? I can take care of myself, wench," Inuyasha growled a low rumble in his chest, but it wasn't directed at her. "You should've just told her and gotten away."

Kaori sat up slightly to look him in the eye. "What was I gonna do? Just say 'He's right there. Go get him now let me go?'"

"Keh, I told ya, I can take care of myself. That dumb bitch wouldn't know what hit her. I don't need some human girl trying to protect me."

"I'm not just some human girl! If we're going to be hunting up these stupid jewel shards together, I'm not going to just sit on the sidelines and wait to be rescued."

Inuyasha ran a hand through his hair, letting out a frustrated groan. "No, you just end up getting in the middle of it and still need to be rescued by me!"

Kaori crossed her arms and defiantly turned away from him; a single tear rolled down her cheek. Inuyasha paled, smelling the fresh salty water. "C-come on, now. Don't cry."

"Well, how the hell am I supposed to act when I tried to keep you safe and you throw it back in my face?" She sniffled.

Inuyasha tightened his hold on her. "I'm going to get you safe." He jumped down from the branch-secretly relishing in the feeling of Kaori's arms tightening around his neck- and touched down on the ground with cat-like grace.

"What do you mean 'get me safe'?" Kaori demanded. He refused to meet her scrutinizing stare. "I'm not leaving; you can just forget that. I want to fight!" She noticed that she was still being carried in the hanyou's arms. "And I want to walk on my own! I may be hurt, but I can at least stand on my own two feet."

"Keh, wench, you're in no condition to walk, let alone fight. You go back there right now and you die, end of story," Inuyasha scoffed, not letting the squirming girl down. " I promised the old woman that I'd keep you safe and I ain't gonna be turned into a liar."

Kaori crossed her arms childishly. "Well could you at least put me down and let me go to the bathroom? I don't think you want to have to wash your robes."

"They're self mending and self cleaning. It won't bother me."

"But the smell on me might," Kaori pointed out. She smirked inwardly seeing Inuyasha's growing discomfort. Inuyasha lowered her to the ground, making sure she was steady on her feet before letting her go completely.

"You've got two minutes before I come looking for you," he said, stuffing his hands in his sleeves.

Kaori turned around and began walking a little ways deeper into the forest before breaking out into a run. Her burst of speed was short lived when she began to feel light headed.

"Kaori?" Inuyasha's voice called out. She ignored it completely and started jogging instead.

_'I will fight. I refuse to be helpless ever again!'_

Up ahead, she could see a small bit of smoke rising into the air from a dwindling campfire. Ignoring the pain in her injuries, Kaori stumbled further along into the small clearing, sighing with relief until she noticed the people.

All of them were lying in a large pool of blood, and all of them were headless.

Inuyasha started running at the sound of Kaori's shriek, blindly zipping through the trees. Following his nose, he found her staring wide eyed at several bodies of the village men strewn haphazardly across the forest floor. He wrapped his arms around Kaori, shielding her eyes.

"Don't look," he whispered, unconsciously smoothing her hair.

"They're all dead…" came her muffled voice. "All of their heads are gone." Kaori swallowed down the bile threatening to rise up in her throat. "Inuyasha, I'm going with you to fight this bitch."

"With what weapon?" He asked, sounding annoyed, but resigned.

Kaori pulled away-Inuyasha frowning at the loss of contact- and knelt down by one of the men. With shaking fingers, she pried the bow from his fingers and scooped up the small quiver of arrows from the ground beside him. "These."

"You can't shoot those things worth a damn," Inuyasha pointed out. He shrugged off his bright red haori and draped it over Kaori's shoulders. "At least wear this. It's made from the hide of the Fire Rat. Better than any human armor out there and at least it'll give you a little bit of protection." He avoided her grateful eyes as she slid her small arms into the sleeves. The robes swallowed up her tiny frame, but that also meant it covered most of her.

Silently scooping Kaori up onto his back, Inuyasha dashed into the woods; the only time the sound was broken between them was when Kaori pointed out where the hairs were leading. The steely hanyou weaved in and out of the invisible danger at the young girl's direction. After several minutes of this, he stopped at the edge of a small clearing when Kaori called for his attention.

"The hairs are much closer here. I think this is where Yura's been hiding out while her human puppets do her dirty work." Kaori tweaked one of the strands flying directly overhead. This caused a chain reaction, sending several waves of hair to rise up from behind a wall of rocks.

"On your left!" Inuyasha jumped as far as he could to the right."Behind!" He slashed at the air, hitting nothing. "Jump and slash at your front!" Inuyasha did as directed, but he ended up going too far over the hair and landed on top of the wave. Sensing that he was losing his balance, Inuyasha tossed Kaori onto a large boulder, but in doing so instead of escaping, his arms and legs were bound almost instantly.

Kaori sat up on her haunches and stared open mouthed at the spectacle in front of her. A sphere easily forty feet high and just as large around made entirely of hair was suspended above the ground. The nest of hair was littered with several hundreds of skulls, almost like a demonic holiday tree.

"We meet again, Inuyasha," Yura descended from her web, her fingers each wrapped in a dozen pitch-black strands. "My, you've been a bad puppy, haven't you?" She reached into the cleavage of her dress and pulled out the tiny maroon pouch. "Just look at what you've done to my Sacred Jewel. You've gone and destroyed it into who knows how many shards? Now I'll have to find all of the other pieces myself." The demoness pouted disappointedly.

"_You_ find the Sacred Jewel?" Inuyasha laughed without a trace of humor. "I'd like to see you try!" Flexing and straining, he managed to shatter the bonds on each of his limbs except his right wrist which he used to swing himself forward towards Yura. Sending out his favored Iron Reaver attack, Inuyasha felt his claws rake across her skin, but didn't cause much damage. Yura flipped overhead and drew her sword, slicing through Inuyasha's abdomen with complete ease.

"Can't have your blood staining that beautiful hair of yours. It'd take forever to wash out, but then again, I still have to get rid of the stench of wet dog." Yura's sword was poised just above Inuyasha's neck when a pink glowing arrow shot past her ear. The demoness whirled around on the mortal girl standing at the ready with another arrow notched in the bow.

"Let him down or the next one's going between your eyes!"

Yura tsked derisively. "Naughty girl. You're keeping me from my prize here. I don't want to have to settle for your hair; it's not as pretty as Inuyasha's."

Kaori pulled the bowstring taut. "I already told you: I'm the only one that's allowed to mess with him!" She let the arrow fly, but it went a little too far o the left and imbedded itself in the mass of hair, causing the entire ball to begin unraveling.

With a shriek of fury Yura flew at Kaori, but was deflected by the half inuyoukai barreling into her side. Reaching into his wound from earlier, Inuyasha coated his claws again with his blood and sent 'Blade of Blood' flying. The crescent snapped around Yura until one of them sliced off her right arm-the one holding the sword-at the elbow.

While Yura's attention was focused on Inuyasha, Kaori was busy attempting to climb the tangled mass of hair. She had noticed that one skull stood out against the sea of black and white: a bright red one about halfway up. She was a little over a fourth of the way up when her grip faltered and she ended up yanking hard on numerous strands, attracting the attention of Yura.

"You bitch! Get away from my nest!" Yura manipulated her severed arm, which was tangled in the steel-like fibers, to skewer Kaori. But the sword bounced harmlessly off. Again the sword stuck, but still the same results. "Why won't you bleed?!"

_'The cloak!'_

"Inuyasha…"

Yura scoffed, rolling her magenta eyes. "Puppy-Love over there won't-" she was interrupted by the enraged shout of the half demon behind her.

"IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!"

The bright yellow lightning attacks slashed through the connections between Yura and the hair, simultaneously causing the gargantuan sphere of hair to collapse into a disgusting heap on the ground, filling almost the entire clearing. Just after his assault was delivered, Inuyasha leapt forward, cradling Kaori against his chest, getting the two of them to safety.

"Are you alright?" Inuyasha asked once his feet hit the ground. Kaori didn't even have a chance to reply before Yura's sword pierced him just underneath his ribs.

"You fools! You forget, I'm immortal!" Yura screeched, pulling back her sword. "Now you'll both _pay_!" She flung her weapon forward, on a path directed at Inuyasha's head, but just before it hit, it froze in place.

Kaori was on her knees, holding the bright red skull in on hand and an arrow in the other. She was stabbing at the skull with the arrow, creating large cracks to form . "The hairs are all connected here!"

"Stop that, you little bitch! Get away from there!" Yura flicked her sword in Kaori's direction instead, but it never reached its target. Kaori's arrow pierced the skull, shattering the comb within, with a brilliant pink light.

Softly gasping, the demoness dissolved into nothingness, leaving behind her sword and black leather dress. Hundreds of skulls still littered the ground, but the hair had disappeared completely as well with Yura's death.

Kaori laughed incredulously as she picked up the halves of the demon comb. "She was a…comb?"

"After all you've seen lately, this still surprises you? The comb was probably used to brush the hair of the dead and became infused with demonic powers."

Kaori could feel the effects of her adrenaline wearing off and the pain from her injuries earlier coming back full force. She crumpled to her knees with a soft cry a split second before Inuyasha steadied her.

"We need to get those injuries looked at," Inuyasha said gruffly, scooping up Kaori with one hand and picking up the Jewel of Four Souls with the other. "Maybe Kaede-babaa can help; course she needs her arm checked as well."

"Inuyasha, can I go back to my time?" Kaori requested quietly, sounding as if she were on the verge of sleep.

"Why would you want to go there, wench?"

"My time…better medicine…" She said through her yawns, closing her eyes. "Please?"

"Keh, alright, but after you wake up," Inuyasha began walking slowly back to the Goshinboku, where the two of them would sleep tonight.

"Mmkay…thank you, Inuyasha." Kaori's body went limp and her breathing got deeper. She was asleep.

"I ain't about to let anything happen to you, wench. Not as long as I can help it."


	6. Reunions Gone Violent

Sunlight began peeking over the treetops as Inuyasha slowly walked around the quiet forest , cradling a peacefully sleeping girl against his chest. His tired, amber eyes traced each of the visible cuts and burns marring her pale skin. A low whining sound issued from his throat as he pushed the tangled black hair from her forehead.

_'She said her home had better medicine than Kaede, but I can't take her home until she wakes up,' _Inuyasha stepped into the circular clearing; his focus settling on the short well placed dead-center. _'At least the old woman was able to tend to a few of the less serious cuts.'_

*page line*

Kaede had remained seated at the base of the tree, keeping pressure applied to her wounds and hiding under the dense leaves Inuyasha covered her with.

Following his nose, he was able to locate the old miko easily while also being extremely cautious about not jostling the girl in his arms too much.

"Kaori!" Kaede cried out, seeing her limp form. Her one good eye flashed up to meet the golden ones above her. "Inuyasha, is she-"

"Relax, babaa. She's only sleeping; deserves to, after the hell she just went through," he interrupted. "But she's hurt. I'm takin' the wench back to her time like she asked. She said they've got better medicine than we do."

Kaede nodded in agreement. "From what she's told me, that seems wise. Did ye defeat the hair demon?"

Inuyasha scoffed as if he had just been insulted. "Yeah, the dumb bitch was nothing more than a comb," Sighing, he knelt down to the ground with his back facing the injured woman. "Now enough blabbering and climb on. I gotta get you back to the village, too."

The miko staggered to her feet and clumsily climbed on top of Inuyasha's back, who readjusted his hold on Kaori. Once Kaede was situated, Inuyasha stood up from his crouch and glanced over his shoulder.

"You on alright? If you fall off it's gonna be kinda hard to catch you with my arms full like this."

"I'll be fine. Just go." They were off, gliding almost effortlessly through the trees.

*page line*

It only took a few minutes to get back to the village, but not many people seemed to be aware of much, like they were still dazed from being under the demon's control. After he had dropped the miko off, Inuyasha just started wandering around the woods waiting for Kaori to awaken.

Inuyasha sat down, resting his back on the side of the well with Kaori propped up in his lap with her head leaning into his chest, right above his heart.

Cheerful birdsong echoed around them as the sun began its ascent into the sky. Long shadows of dawn stretched across the gently swaying wildflowers. Inuyasha unconsciously ran his claw over the scar across her eyebrow, tracing it, wondering how she had gotten it.

Kaori became aware of something soft but warm around her and something running across her forehead almost tenderly. She shifted slightly and let out a quiet moan when her burns were rubbed. The stroking sensation on her face stopped instantly.

"Good, you're awake."

Kaori opened her eyes, blinking the traces of sleep away. "Inuyasha…?" She looked up at him and held in a gasp. The sunlight lit him from behind, creating a golden halo around his head and making his silver hair shimmer.

"What're you looking at me like that for?" he demanded, resisting the urge to squirm under her wide-eyed stare.

"Nothing," then she noticed where she was: in his lap with one arm supporting her head while the other was draped across her stomach. "Inuyasha, why am I in your lap?"

Because she was looking down, she missed the slight tinge of pink coloring his cheeks. "I…uh…carried you. You passed out after Yura was killed and told me you wanted to go back home because you had better medicines there. Kaede took care of a few of the cuts on your legs and face, but the ones on your arms and stomach were a bit too much for the amount of medicine she had."

Inuyasha stood up carefully and set Kaori on her feet, only to have her almost instantly fall over. Sighing heavily, he picked her up bridal style and held her with one arm like she weighed nothing. "Sorry," she mumbled. Her eyes caught a flash of purple down by the base of the well. "Hey, is that my shirt?"

Inuyasha picked up the shredded purple fabric and gave it a hesitant sniff. He could still smell the dried blood, but he could very clearly smell her on it. "Yeah, and here's your pants," he handed both pieces of clothing to Kaori who looked at them uncomfortably. "What's wrong with them? They're your clothes, ain't they?"

"Yeah…they just bring back bad memories, and how am I gonna explain this to Papa?"

"Keh, he's your old man. He should believe you; I would," Inuyasha said with a shrug.

"But remember, we don't have demons in my time so saying I got attacked by two and had a half demon carry me home is not gonna work very well," Kaori paused for a minute at that thought. "Maybe you should just hide until I'm done explaining things. I don't want him to freak out because I was missing for a week and then I brought a guy home. He might get the wrong idea."

Inuyasha cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, we're not gonna get anywhere by just standing here talking," and before she could speak, Inuyasha had already leapt over the side of the Bone Eater's Well. Kaori closed her eyes hoping that they wouldn't hit the bottom or that she wouldn't go through and leave him behind. But she felt a cool tingle wash over her skin causing her eyes to flash open.

Inuyasha's hair whipped around behind him like a silver mane, but he wasn't focused on that or even the girl in his arms. He was staring out into the starry expanse in front of him. How could this even exist? How had no one discovered this before?

In almost no time at all, they were standing back in the bottom of the well, but the hanyou knew he was in a different place because a thousand unfamiliar smells assaulted his nose which he wrinkled in disgust. He hopped out of the well in one easy jump, landing on the smooth wooden surface of the well house. Inuyasha was careful to set Kaori on her feet and not let go until he was sure she was stable enough to walk on her own.

"I'll wait out here, but try not to take too long, wench." He leaned back against the wall with his hands folded neatly into his haori sleeves. Kaori smiled at him before going through the creaky door.

The sun wasn't very high yet, but there was plenty of light shining on the Sakamoto Shrine. Kaori sneaked across the yard silently as quickly as she could and ducked into the house.

Inside it looked completely opposite from when she left it. Instead of Maeko and Raiden's toys all over the place, there were Missing Person flyers spread out across every available surface with her face plastered all over every one of them. Dishes were piled up in the sink and there were two drawings posted to the front of the refrigerator. Both were of her.

Walking out of the kitchen with a knot in her stomach, Kaori wandered into the living room where her heart clenched and the tears spilled over. She didn't even notice that she had dropped the shredded clothing at her feet as she stepped forward.

Her father was asleep in his chair clutching a photograph of her and her mother to his chest. His blonde hair was matted and unkempt like it hadn't been washed in several days-he hadn't shaved either- while deep dark circles hung under his eyes. Dried tear tracks ran down the length of his cheeks. He obviously wasn't sleeping well because there was a deep crease between his eyebrows.

Kaori's throat constricted painfully after seeing the state she had placed her father in. She sniffled a few times, trying to keep quiet, but it was incredibly difficult.

Out in the well house, Inuyasha could clearly smell fresh tears being shed, but staying true to his word, he stayed put. She had to do this alone.

Kaori shook her father's shoulders gently. "Papa…" Her voice was quiet, but also thick with emotion. His eyes groggily opened, adjusting to the light. His hazel eyes snapped to her bright blue ones.

"K-Kaori…?" she nodded, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. Adrian Sakamoto threw himself out of the chair and engulfed his daughter in a fierce hug. "Kaori...you're safe…you're safe…" He seemed to be saying that for his own reassurance more than hers.

They stayed like that for an immeasurable amount of time before he pulled back slightly to look at his daughter. His eyes narrowed at the cuts littering her face then he looked down at her clothes, noticing them for the first time as well.

"Kaori, what happened to you? I thought I lost you."

"Papa, I—" Kaori was cut off by two loud squeals behind her.

"KAORI!" Maeko and Raiden screamed, barreling into their older sister with ferocious hugs. "Where did you go? Are you ok? What happened? Why are you wearing these clothes?" Questions were fired off at rapid speed by the enthusiastic seven-year-olds.

Kaori laughed, hugging them tightly. "Settle down and I'll tell you all," Instantly the twins quieted and sat down on the floor expectantly while her father took his seat in his armchair.

Kaori took a deep breath and started. "I went into the well house and I tripped which made me fall into the well, but instead of hitting the bottom, I glided easily through the floor into a…portal…wormhole…I don't know. But I landed 500 years in the past. I got captured by some villagers that thought I was a demon but the priestess, Kaede, informed them that I wasn't so they let me go. A little while later this giant centipede woman started attacking because she wanted the Shikon Jewel," She noticed Raiden open his mouth to ask a question. "The Shikon Jewel is the necklace Mama gave to me last year." The little boy nodded and motioned for her to continue.

"Since I was the one the creature wanted I ran off into the forest with her chasing me. I managed to get away from her a little but into the presence of a half demon named Inuyasha…"

The hanyou outside perked up a bit when he heard his name. He had done a fairly good job at tuning Kaori and her siblings out up until that point, wanting to give them some privacy. He turned his ears towards the house to listen in on the rest.

"—demanding I hand over the jewel. I ran and Kaede put a necklace on him that makes him fall to the ground when I say 'sit'," Inuyasha's nose made contact with the floor and he groaned quietly. Battling demons he could do all day but a few times of being brought to the floor was enough to make him act like a berated pup.

_'Stupid wench…' _Inuyasha grumbled, pushing himself to his feet once the Subjugation Beads effect wore off. He pulled the necklace out so he could inspect it. How did this stupid rosary bring him to his knees every single damn time?

Dropping the beads, the hanyou turned his attention back to the wench. " —Yura was about to kill us when I noticed a red skull hidden in the white ones. Inuyasha distracted her while I stabbed at it with an arrow. The skull broke and Yura died then Inuyasha brought me back home."

Kaori looked at the faces of her family around her, gauging their reactions. Raiden and Maeko were enthralled by the tale, believing every word while Adrian was far more skeptical.

"Kaori…" he started gently. "Are you sure you weren't kidnapped? All of this sounds a bit ridiculous and like the effects of drugs or something. I mean, falling through a magical portal in the bottom of the well and landing 500 years ago where there are demons running around?"

"I wasn't kidnapped and I'm not crazy! All of that really happened! How else could you explain my clothes?" She plucked the destroyed purple shirt off the ground, holding it up for scrutiny. "Or the scratches and burns all over me?" Kaori rolled up her sleeves, revealing the deep, angry red cuts.

"I don't know. Perhaps we should have you go visit your old psychiatrist Dr. Takahashi?"

"NO! I don't need a shrink. I'm not crazy. And I'm telling the truth!" Angry tears formed in her eyes. Why didn't they believe her?

Inuyasha had been pacing around the well house when he heard things start escalating, but decided he needed to step in once he smelled her tears come back. His ears were pressed flat against his head as he stormed up to the house. He flung the door open and strolled into the living room; his arms folded back neatly in his sleeves.

"Oi! I can hear you all the way out there by the well!" He stepped forward, positioning himself slightly in front of Kaori and her father. "She's not crazy, and you're her old man so you should believe her unless she's had a history of saying shit like this and sounding like a lunatic!"

Adrian, who had been standing directly in front of his daughter, took a step back at the large figure between them. The hanyou stood about as tall as Adrian, but he looked even bigger thanks to his billowy scarlet clothing. Angry golden eyes stared him down, challenging him.

"Who do you think you are to come into my home and address me as such. I don't see how Kaori is any of your concern anyway. Now either leave now or I will have to call the police to escort you out," he said, not backing down.

"Papa, this is Inuyasha," Kaori said with a faint smile. She admired how he had been quick to defend her. The hanyou's ears perked up without his permission when she said his name. Gasps filled the room when everyone got a good look at the two fuzzy white dog ears sitting on top of his head.

"See? I told you I wasn't lying." Kaori reached up and tweaked one of his ears playfully. He flattened them against his head with an irritated look.

"I thought I've told you don't touch my ears, wench."

Before Kaori had a chance to reply to that, her father beat her to the punch. "What the hell did you just call my daughter?!"

"Papa, relax. He always calls me that and I can get him to stop with one word and he knows it," Kaori fingered the beads around his neck, but in doing so, she brushed her arm against his haori and hissed at the contact with her burns.

"Where's your medicine, wench? The sooner we take care of those the sooner we can get back to looking for the shards."

"No one's going anywhere! Kaori just got back from the Feudal Era and has all of these horrible injuries," Kaori's father snapped, attempting to separate the two.

Inuyasha picked Adrian up with one hand and held him a foot off the ground. "And who are you to try and stop me?"

"Inuyasha! Put him down!" ordered Kaori sternly. Inuyasha completely ignored her, still growling at Adrian. "Do it or I'll say the 's' word!"

"Keh, you wouldn't while I'm holding him," he retorted with a cocky smirk, knowing he had the upper hand on the wench. At least until she spoke again.

"Do it or those jewel shards can stay lost."

_'Damn that wench!'_ Reluctantly, Inuyasha released Adrian with a low growl. Before he could say anything else, his attention was diverted by Kaori ascending the stairs, leaving him behind.

"If I hear anything that I _think_ sounds like you fighting again, I won't think twice about putting your face to the floor."

Kaori sighed heavily as she scooped up some clothing from her room to change into. She carried her armful of stuff into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her. Souring the bathroom cabinets for the proper medicines and bandages, Kaori finally located them. Unfortunately, the majority of the burns and gashes were across her stomach and back. The ones on the front half of her torso were easily taken care of and covered up, but the ones she couldn't see proved to be a bit more of an issue.

Kaori reached from all angles, spinning around every which way trying to see the cuts in the mirror, but banging into the tub or cabinets frequently.

"Shit!" She hissed after one particularly nasty fall onto the bathroom floor.

"Oi, wench, were the lacerations not enough for ya? Do you have to try and kill yourself in there?" Inuyasha's voice called from the other side of the door.

"What do you want me to do? I can't exactly see all of my injuries, so trying to put the medicine on right now is like trying to fight blindfolded!" snapped an exasperated Kaori. "If I actually had some help then maybe I wouldn't end up splitting my head open." The end of her sentence was punctuated with another loud bang.

Not bothering to knock or anything, Inuyasha hit the door with his fist, causing it to nearly fly off its hinges, and stalked into the bathroom where Kaori was desperately trying to cover up her barely concealed chest with a small towel.

"INUYASHA!" Her cheeks flaming a bright red. "What are you _doing_?!"

"Well, I can either come in here and…help, or you can stay in here and beat yourself to death," he turned her around so that her back was to him. Gashes criss-crossed all over the expanse of her smooth skin. "What do I do first?"

Kaori looked at the hanyou in confusion. He said he was there to help, but why?

_'Does he actually care about me..? No, he probably just doesn't want his little jewel detector to die until he has what he wants.' _She held up the towel to her chest with one hand while reaching for the disinfectant with her other. "Squeeze this out onto the cuts and spread it across the worse ones,"

Inuyasha grabbed up the tube and emptied about half of it on her back then proceeded to rub it all over. This went on for several minutes with Kaori giving the medicine and instructions while Inuyasha did his best to follow them. Once all of the medicine was applied, Inuyasha stepped back to inspect his handiwork; his eyes flashed to Kaori's in a silent question: finished?

Kaori turned her back to face the mirror, examining the medicine slathered across her back. Sure she'd have to wipe most of it off, but it would do. With a nod, she smiled at Inuyasha. "Thank you, Inuyasha. Go on back downstairs, I'll be down in a minute."

Inuyasha cleared his throat a bit awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck, avoiding her eyes. "S'nothin'." he turned on his heel and quickly exited the room.

Sighing tiredly, Kaori gathered up a handful of toilet paper and began dabbing at the goop coating her back like a second skin. She had used up about half a roll of toilet paper before it was dry enough to put bandages over her back. Still clutching the wash towel to her chest, Kaori scurried into her bedroom and slammed the door.

Tossing the towel onto her bed, she wandered over to her closet to find a shirt. Her eyes landed on a bright red t-shirt. Kaori snagged the garment off of the hanger and threw it on.

"Ouch!" She hissed when it touched her injured back; she yanked it off and threw it into the back of the closet.

"Oi, wench," Inuyasha's voice carried through the locked door. "You ain't trying to kill yourself again, right?"

"Sit, boy," Kaori growled quietly. A smirk played across her face when she heard the familiar sounds of the loud thud and receding footsteps.

_'I know I should feel bad for 'sitting' him, but I'm in pain, I'm tired, and his smart-ass comments aren't helping.' _

"Okay, nothing with a back…" Kaori muttered to herself as she rifled through her closet. Shirts flew around the room, landing in haphazard heaps across the floor. Finally her eyes settled on a dark blue halter top. Nice and casual, it would be perfect for a trip to the mall, but definitely something out of place for the Feudal Era.

_'Oh well, nothing I can do about that right now. It hurts to have anything touch my back right now.'_

Carefully, slipping the fabric over her head, she tied the strings together at the base of her neck in a double knot. Kaori threw on a pair of cargo pants much like her others, but these were a lighter brown; with a belt to hold it in place and her old shoes back on, she decided she was presentable enough.

Downstairs, a certain hanyou was doing his best to ignore the incessant questions being fired at him by the twins, and he was doing a fairly good job at keeping a neutral face. The only evidence of his growing irritation were the slight twitches of his ears.

"Are you really half dog?" Twitch.

"Do you play fetch?" Twitch.

"Will you sit if I tell you?" Inuyasha slammed his hands down over his ears after that last question which was about the same time as when Kaori walked into the room.

"No, he only does that if _I _ tell him." She leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed loosely over her chest.

"Ooh! Will you show us, Kaori?!" Maeko squealed, clutching her little hands, her brother mimicking her. Kaori looked up at Inuyasha, who was sporting a face that looked a cross between murderous and fear.

_'If she knows what's good for her, that wench won't try anything.'_

_**'Please, like you'd do anything to you precious jewel hunter.' **_the sarcastic voice sneered. _**'Admit it, you won't be able to get out from under her little thumb…not that you'd want to.'**_

_'Pfft, what do you know? Damn wench better know she can't expect to just sit me and get away with it.' _ Inuyasha's glare wavered slightly when he saw the evil smirk Kaori was sporting. He tensed his shoulders, waiting for the command.

"Nah, I only do it when he's bad," she said, looking down at her siblings' slightly disappointed faces. "But don't worry, I know you'll see what happens soon."

"Keh, as if. It wouldn't bother me anyway," Inuyasha scoffed, tucking his arms into his sleeves.

_'Why did the wench pass up to opportunity to slam my face into the ground? It's not like she give a damn about me.'_

Adrian walked into the living room with a glass of water and alka seltzer , sipping on it as he flopped into his armchair. "I'm too old for this shit…" He murmured, taking another sip.

Kaori didn't hear her father's mumbling when she picked up a notepad and a pen. "Ok, I don't know how long we're going to be there, but we need to prepare for at least a few weeks. I'm gonna need a jacket, some matches, a-"

This snapped Adrian out of his daze."Wait a second, young lady. You aren't going back there. You were only gone a few days and you come back like this!" He motioned to her arms and back. "No way you're going to go for countless weeks into a place that shouldn't even exist anymore!"

Inuyasha growled, his ears flattened against his silver hair. "You might be her old man, but you ain't the boss of her and I need her to help me get the jewel shards. So until I get them all back, I ain't letting you take her."


End file.
